Level Seven Journey Cultivator Art

Luo Zhengnan gathered his thoughts, pieced together a rough line of clues, and went to find Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng was having drinks with Ma the Fifth. Seeing Ma the Fifth, Luo Zhengnan felt a bit awkward, but Ma the Fifth was not awkward in the slightest. Ma the Fifth was naturally an easygoing man of the world who harbored no prejudice against figures of the underworld. More importantly, Luo Zhengnan had been brought in by Li Banfeng; even though he came from a place like the Jiangxiang Gang, such a man was completely reliable. "Brother Luo, have a drink! For what happened last night, you deserve top credit." Luo Zhengnan stared blankly. "What happened last night?" Li Banfeng lowered his voice. "What happened in his bed last night." Luo Zhengnan had heard of Ma Junyang's reputation. How could whatever he did in bed count as top credit for me? Luo Zhengnan grew somewhat uneasy, kept a polite distance from Ma the Fifth, and said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, I've sorted out a few things..." Midway through his words, Luo Zhengnan glanced toward the private room's door. Through the door, they all heard the sound of someone sweeping the floor. Ma the Fifth pointed upstairs, signaling Li Banfeng and Luo Zhengnan to slip out through the private room's hidden door and find another place to talk. He pulled open the main door of the private room, called the sweeper inside, and told him to clean the room thoroughly. "Sweep it clean," Ma the Fifth said, deliberately handing the sweeper a Huan Country banknote while keeping his eyes fixed on him. "Important guests will be arriving shortly. Put your back into it." The sweeper was anxious. He had seen Li the Seventh bring a stranger back to Xiaoyaowu, but he did not know who this person was and could not decide whether he should report it to Wan Jinxian. Now he couldn't find Li the Seventh, and Ma the Fifth was standing right there watching him. He had no choice but to grip his broom and obediently sweep. ... Upstairs, Luo Zhengnan laid out the full trail of clues to Li Banfeng. "Seventh Master, do you know there's a Sage at Jianren Ridge?" "I've heard of him." Li Banfeng didn't mention that he had actually been to Jianren Ridge. "Do you know this Sage's identity?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Just now, I overheard He Jiaqing speaking with that woman. That Sage seems to be an emperor." Li Banfeng was startled. "An emperor of which dynasty?" Luo Zhengnan shook his head. "That I can't say for sure. To be honest, I've been looking into this Sage for a long time. He maintains very close ties with the Jiangxiang Gang." "You mean human trafficking?" Li Banfeng knew about this as well. "Anyone who can sell people to Jianren Ridge must have special connections." "No special connections needed!" Luo Zhengnan waved a hand. "Every hall in the Jiangxiang Gang does it. It's their livelihood. Many halls operate in depressed territories, and they rely on this just to survive. Jianren Ridge pays well, and if they're lucky, they can even obtain some elixir pills from the Sage. Because I set a rule forbidding Medicine King Hall from engaging in human trafficking, my own brothers harbored plenty of resentment over it. If you'd ever been to Jianren Ridge, you'd know what kind of state it's in. If it were up to me, I'd rather stay in Kucaizhuang than set foot in a place like Jianren Ridge. Life is far too miserable for the people there. All year round, they run themselves ragged just to scrape by, with no time to marry or raise children. The population of Jianren Ridge has been shrinking year after year, and it relies entirely on the Jiangxiang Gang to supply them with people." Li Banfeng thought of Xiao Zhenggong. "It seems the gang leader of the Jiangxiang Gang is also in contact with this Sage." "Contact is an absolute certainty. Judging by the clues I gathered, it was precisely through his ties with the Sage that Xiao Zhenggong became a balancer." Li Banfeng was taken aback. "What is a balancer?" "Someone with special standing between the Outer States and Puluo Province. As for where exactly that specialty lies, I haven't sorted it out yet." The Sage was an emperor. Xiao Zhenggong was a balancer. And now the Sage was trying to recruit He Jiaqing. Would He Jiaqing join forces with the Sage? That matter, it seemed, was hardly up to him. ... Back in the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng walked up to Hong Ying with a grim face. "Come with me!" Li Banfeng barked. Hong Ying followed behind him, obediently tagging along. The gramophone was startled and asked the others, "What did Hong Ying do wrong? Why is my husband so angry?" Mengde spoke from the wall, "Miss Hong has always had a foul temper. The master has surely put up with her for far too long, and today he's going to enforce family discipline." The gramophone laughed. "A good beating would serve her right! It's high time someone took her down a peg!" On second thought, she grew a bit doubtful. "Can my husband actually beat her?" Mengde replied, "With Madam here, how would Miss Hong dare strike back?" ... The two reached Room Seven. Li Banfeng moved the Red Lotus out and said with a solemn expression, "How have I treated you?" Hong Ying kept her head down. "Seventh Brother has treated me... very well." "There's still a piece of Lin Dexing's flesh and blood left. The glove hid it for you—I already know about this. Eat it." Hong Ying shook her head. "I'm not eating that. Seventh Brother promised not to force me." "Even my wife ate her share. You refusing to eat—does that seem appropriate?" "I'm just not eating it!" Hong Ying turned stubborn. Li Banfeng sighed. "Fine, we'll put that aside for now. I've run into a formidable journey cultivator rival—ninth-level cultivation. Before I fight him, I have to know his techniques. Levels one through six go without saying; I know all of those already. Tell me about the techniques for levels seven, eight, and nine." Asking level by level was too troublesome. High-level techniques, in particular, were known by very few, and none of those who knew were willing to divulge them. He might as well seize this opportunity to pry out all the techniques at once. Li Banfeng knew he was a bit greedy by nature, but he believed he could keep himself in check. He definitely wouldn't learn techniques beyond his level. In all probability, he wouldn't learn beyond his level. At most, he would study the mechanics of higher-level techniques and practice them on occasion. That, in all probability, wouldn't count as learning beyond his level. "Seventh Brother, you want to ask about journey cultivator techniques?" Hong Ying looked hesitant. "Let's go find my wife. You can eat Lin Dexing's flesh right in front of her." "Don't! I'll talk! The journey cultivator's level seven technique is called Willful Course." "How is this technique used?" "It has to be used in conjunction with the level one techniques. A journey cultivator's level one techniques are the foundation; no technique can function without them. Viewing Flowers on a Galloping Horse corresponds to Wind Rises on Level Ground—the key is to move fast. Willful Course corresponds to seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity—it requires moving in reverse." Li Banfeng was baffled. "What do you mean, 'moving in reverse'? Don't tell me you have to head straight into danger?" Hong Ying nodded her spearhead. "That's exactly it—you must head toward danger. Once you activate Willful Course, the more dangerous the place, the sharper your combat power surges." Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "If there's a level nine cultivator ahead and I charge straight at him, isn't that just throwing my life away?" Hong Ying paused in confusion, then asked, "What do you mean, 'you charge straight at him'? You're not a journey cultivator." "Indeed, I'm not a journey cultivator," Li Banfeng said with a straight face. "I'm merely putting myself in a journey cultivator's shoes and thinking from their perspective!" Hong Ying answered, "That truly is the logic behind it. Suppose you're a level seven journey cultivator facing a level nine cultivator: if you employ Willful Course, you should charge forward. Naturally, charging in still leaves very slim odds of winning. But if there's no way to escape, Willful Course is an option. Once you charge in, your combat power will approach level eight, and if the situation is extraordinarily perilous, your power might even exceed level eight, giving you a fighting chance against a level nine cultivator." It was a technique that staked one's life. Li Banfeng remarked, "From what you're saying, when a level seven journey cultivator is driven into a corner, they might fight to the death at any moment." Hong Ying shook her spearhead. "Not necessarily. In truth..." Reaching the crucial crux of the technique, Hong Ying hesitated again. All cultivators sought to protect their own arts, especially high-level techniques. Li Banfeng sighed softly. "Fine, let's go eat meat then!" "Seventh Brother~ spare me~" Hong Ying was nowhere near as adept at acting coy as the wife. Her sweet, pleading tone sounded stiff and unnatural to Li Banfeng's ears. Softening his heart was out of the question; unless she explained everything clearly, he wouldn't let her off. Helpless, Hong Ying revealed the crux: "If severely wounded, one cannot execute the level seven technique. It imposes extremely strict demands on the physique; once the body is compromised, the technique cannot be activated." So it couldn't even be saved until one was gravely injured. That meant from the very start of battle, one had to resolve to fight for their life. This technique truly tested a person. "What is the key to mastering the technique?" "Courage—the courage to step directly into danger. Seventh Brother, if that formidable rival of yours disregards his own life and charges straight at you without a care for survival, you must take special care. He might already have activated the level seven technique. With ninth-level cultivation, his combat power could very well surge past level ten. Whatever you do, avoid the brunt of his attack and do not face him head-on." Hong Ying's attitude wasn't bad. Li Banfeng asked, "What about the level eight technique?" Hong Ying rubbed her hands and was just about to answer when the gramophone suddenly shouted from outside, "Aiya, Husband, what is that smell? How is there still a piece of meat stashed in Room Three?!" The Portable Abode instantly fell dead silent. Hong Ying clutched Li Banfeng's hand, her palm drenched in sweat. The collection of magical treasures couldn't withstand the interrogation. The Tang dao was the first to speak: "The glove hid that meat! Room Three stinks to high heaven—I stopped going in there to sleep!" The wife turned to interrogate the glove. "Did you refuse to eat the meat and hide it away?" "I ate mine! I really ate it! That piece isn't mine!" the glove defended itself. "That piece belongs to Miss Hong! She made me hide it!" In truth, Li Banfeng had tacitly authorized this, but under circumstances like these, the glove could never sell out the head of the house. Hong Ying was scared out of her wits. The gramophone snapped, "You little bitch, get out here!" Hong Ying walked out shivering. Regardless of how much enmity she bore toward the gramophone, when trouble actually struck, she was genuinely terrified. Li Banfeng offered a word of mediation. "Wife, that meat has been sitting for so many days that the smell has turned rather strong. Since Hong Ying truly can't stomach it, just give it to the Red Lotus." Dew beaded across the Red Lotus. It wanted to spit at Li Banfeng, but held back in the end. The gramophone surprisingly didn't press Hong Ying any further. "Since my husband pleads on your behalf, I will spare you this once. Husband, your humble servant has taken in far too much nourishment over the past couple of days and needs to rest for a few days. Once I've recovered, it will be time to guide you to level seven. In recent days, has my husband asked anyone about the level seven Dwelling Cultivator technique?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Do I even need to ask? I'll just wait for you to guide me, Wife!" "Aiya, Husband! I knew you trusted your humble servant most. My husband must never go asking around recklessly—learning techniques beyond your level is a great taboo, and it could very well cost you your life." Li Banfeng waved a hand dismissively. "How could I ever do such a thing?" "Aiya, Husband, your temper is a bit impatient, and your humble servant truly worries for you. Husband, remember above all: at level seven, we learn level seven skills. Don't go coveting anything else." "Mm," Li Banfeng agreed, and stepped out of the Portable Abode. Hong Ying stood beside the gramophone. The gramophone asked, "What were you just doing with my husband?" Hong Ying hurriedly answered, "I didn't do anything! We are completely innocent!" "Innocent, my foot!" the gramophone ground out. "If not for my husband, I would have beaten you to death long ago, you little bitch!" Hong Ying gave a cold snort, yet remained standing obediently beside the gramophone. The gramophone turned her eyes toward the Red Lotus. "And you, you little wench! Isn't this batch of pills taking far too long to refine?" ... Two days later, Luo Zhengnan received word once more: "The Sage's disciple is named Zhong Huai'en. He arranged a meeting with He Jiaqing, but He Jiaqing told that woman to go in his place. Tomorrow evening at seven o'clock, at the Lotus Pond Teahouse." Li Banfeng smiled. "So they really intend to cooperate. Let's go join the fun."