'Chen Ping must have secrets on him!'
Returning to the Great Liang world, Fang Xi's eyes sparkled with light: 'Should I...'
The next moment, he chuckled silently, "Among the cultivators in the Great Thousand World, everyone has their own opportunities, and having some secrets is normal, right? There's no need to dig deep, or even kill for treasures, it's unnecessary... it's like losing sight of the bigger picture! No matter how big his secret is, can it be bigger than mine?"
Having a mountain of gold at his disposal and still scheming to snatch a beggar's copper coins seemed rather... low!
After understanding this point, Fang Xi let go of his curiosity about Chen Ping, identified the direction, and hurriedly chased after the caravan.
To be honest, he quite enjoyed being away from the large groups, in a semi-lone ranger position, which made it convenient to hide certain things.
For example... Fang Xi had been searching for traces of demonic beasts in the wilderness.
Unfortunately, although there were demonic disturbances in the Great Liang, they were not easily found everywhere.
Since killing that color-changing dragon, Fang Xi had exhausted all his luck.
During this period, he roamed the wilderness but did not encounter any demonic beasts.
The journey was uneventful, and he caught up with the caravan.
"Young Master is back!"
Lily saw Fang Xi, her eyes full of smiles.
"Yes, I'm back!"
Fang Xi nodded as he looked at the increasingly massive caravan.
As the caravan passed through other towns, they naturally replenished their livestock and carriages, making the caravan larger and more cumbersome... but reducing the hardships of the journey.
After exchanging a few words with the maidservant, Fang Xi found Han Fatty.
"Oh? Brother Fang wants to know about the forces in Three Elements City?"
Han Fatty was sitting on the carriage, eating fruits peeled by a maid, and chuckled, "That's simple..."
Since they had idle time on the road, Han Fatty proceeded to explain in detail the distribution of power in Three Elements City.
As the capital city of Dingzhou, Three Elements City had a large population and a flourishing economy, with various forces intertwined.
"If we talk about the first power in Three Elements City, it's naturally the Dingzhou Army! The Dingzhou Army is like the 'Divine Needle of the Sea' placed by the court in Dingzhou... Every soldier in the army must refine their qi and blood, reaching the level of a martial disciple! Only after three transformations of qi and blood can one become a squad leader, a true martial warrior can become a battalion commander, and above the battalion commanders are the eight chief captains, each of them a renowned true martial master... As for the commander..."
Han Fatty deliberately left a cliffhanger.
"Could it be a True Martial Saint?" Fang Xi interjected.
"If one has the status of a grandmaster, the commander naturally holds such a position, but that's not the case..." Han Fatty laughed heartily, "Being good at fighting doesn't mean one can lead an army... Having high martial skills doesn't mean one can command a large army. The commander of the Dingzhou Army is just a military officer appointed by the Great Liang court, his strength is hard to say, but it is said that he has an elite force as his personal guard, even a grandmaster might not be able to get close..."
"Indeed, that makes sense." Fang Xi nodded, "The government is the first power, then what about the second power?"
"The second power is the Yuanhe Mountain."
Han Fatty glanced at Fang Xi intentionally, noticing the latter's lack of expression, and continued, "Yuanhe Mountain is a major sect in Dingzhou, with dozens of true martial masters and a constant stream of martial warriors. The network of relationships is intricate... It is said that there is a grandmaster ancestor in the sect, but it's hard to verify."
"As for the third, it's the Demon Hunting Association!"
"The Demon Hunting Association?" Upon hearing this name, Fang Xi suddenly felt a sense of affinity, he probably had some connection with this organization.
Han Fatty was clueless about it and explained, "There are too many demonic beasts in the wilderness, and they are too elusive. Mobilizing the imperial army or even the divine hunters to deal with them one by one is too troublesome. Civilian martial artists are also a good force, so the Demon Hunting Association came into being.
It's like the court offering rewards, capable martial artists can go hunt and kill demonic beasts in exchange for rewards... and gain fame! Which martial artist doesn't love fame and fortune? This Demon Hunting Association is spread throughout the province, and once a martial artist defeats a formidable demonic beast, their reputation will soar, and there's even a monthly ranking..."
"Indeed, not bad."
Fang Xi continued to inquire about the fourth and fifth powers, the Business Alliance and the Martial Alliance, feeling speechless.
The Business Alliance was a commercial alliance, where there is no wealth without commerce, it goes without saying.
The Martial Alliance was a union of martial arts schools, ranking only fifth, indicating that those who sell their skills are not of high quality.
Teaching martial arts for money will always be at the bottom, it's understandable how they end up like this, quite understandable.
"Han Fatty, it seems you missed something, like the power of the Black Market?" Fang Xi pondered for a moment, squinting his eyes.
"Haha... the Black Market is like rats in the gutter, what power could they have?" Han Fatty laughed humbly, "Apart from that, there are the four major families and the like. They are not listed separately because their influence spans various sectors. For example, the Huang family has members serving as captains in the Dingzhou Army, operates businesses, and holds significant voting rights in the Business Alliance. Besides, they also influence some martial arts schools and secretly gather many experts as their wings, making it difficult to deal with..."
"I'm not thinking of dealing with anyone..." Fang Xi chuckled silently, "I just want to focus on practicing martial arts and eventually ascend to the rank of grandmaster!"
"Grandmaster?" Han Fatty smiled bitterly, "To achieve the True Martial level? It's quite difficult... I've only heard an elder mention something about 'merging spirit and strength,' 'harmonizing heaven and man,' and so on..."
"Merging spirit and strength?" Fang Xi thought of similar descriptions in the Yuanhe Mountain manual.
However, it was explained more clearly.
The gap between a grandmaster and a martial master is significant, divided into many steps.
The first step to becoming a grandmaster is to first cultivate the essence of the fist!
As for the second step, it involves refining strength to the point where it transforms the spine's dragon, reaching the heavenly spirit, breaking through the mud pill palace!
These steps were not recorded in the manual; they were passed down by Linghu Yang's master.
One step martial master, two steps martial master... there might be a third step, a fourth step later on...
As for when one could become a grandmaster, Linghu Yang had no idea.
"The cultivation of a martial master is even more challenging than that of a martial artist..."
"Unfortunately, the manual for the Yuanhe Five Thunder Hands in my hands is incomplete... perhaps, I should think of a solution?"
Fang Xi looked at the scenery outside the carriage, lost in thought.
In the following month, Fang Xi often lagged behind, going to the Southern Wilderness Immortal Realm to farm and deal with interpersonal relationships.
Occasionally, he roamed through the mountains and wilderness of Dingzhou, searching for traces of demonic beasts.
After expending great effort, he finally encountered a two-headed snake demon, skinned the snake, and stored the meat for sale.
Fang Xi gradually came to terms with this outcome.
If demons were everywhere in the countryside, how could the people farm?
The world would probably have ended long ago, and there would be no Great Liang court.
Therefore, although there were demonic disturbances in the wilderness, they were ultimately a minority.
Just like the situation before Blackstone City, it was purely caused by the emergence of demonic trees, driving away other demonic beasts, it was an exception!
On this day, as the caravan ascended a hill, a large city in the distance came into view.
This large city was located at the confluence of two major rivers, with a massive dock.
Under the sunlight, the moat shimmered, with huge flower boats cruising on it...
The majestic ancient city exuded an ancient aura, and the large characters 'Three Elements' on the plaque were clearly visible.
"Three Elements City, we've arrived!"
Many people in the caravan cheered.
They had finally reached the end of their journey!
"Young Master, look!"
Lily pointed excitedly to the city not far away, "So many people... so beautiful..."
"Yes."
Fang Xi smiled and patted her head indulgently, then turned to Mu Miaomiao, "Miaomiao... I leave Lily in your care."
"Please rest assured, Senior Brother. Huh?" Mu Miaomiao subconsciously agreed, then realized something was amiss, "Senior Brother... aren't you entering the city?"
"I'm just escorting you all here. Farewell after a thousand miles, I'm leaving!"
Fang Xi waved to Mu Canglong and Han Fatty, then turned and strode away.
Entering the city with so many people was not his plan at all.
After all, with many people comes gossip, and he had already revealed some extraordinary abilities.
Even Mu Canglong might not fully trust him.
Moreover, the siege of Blackstone City was a major event, surely drawing the attention of the authorities. If they discovered this group of survivors, who could withstand interrogation?
Human hearts are also fragile under pressure.
Therefore, Fang Xi chose to simply not test human hearts.
As long as he disappeared mysteriously, with no one knowing his whereabouts, no one would think of reporting to the authorities.
So, he decided to leave alone, not even taking Lily with him.
After all, she was just a maidservant, and he had protected her through the demonic calamity, ensuring her safe arrival in Three Elements City, which was already a great favor.
There was only gratitude towards her, no debt owed.
Fang Xi left in a very chic manner.
Watching his departing figure, Mu Canglong and Han Fatty fell into silence.
Although they were grateful for Fang Xi's lifesaving grace and might not betray him, what lay deep in their hearts was hard to say.
But now, they had no thoughts at all.
Because Fang Xi didn't give them a chance at all!
"After becoming a true martial master, it's quite difficult to progress further. Right now, my martial power is equivalent to a two-step martial master, but I haven't even taken a single step on the path to becoming a grandmaster... Although with the assistance of spiritual awareness, reaching the subtle realm and understanding the essence of fist should be quick..."
"But martial arts are just a means of protection, cultivating immortality is the true way to longevity..."
Returning to the immortal realm, feeling the abundant spiritual energy compared to the Great Liang, Fang Xi sighed inwardly.
He walked out of the underground chamber and into the shack, only to find a transmission talisman floating outside!
Fang Xi reached out, infused a bit of mana, and a clear voice rang out, "Is this Senior Fang Xi? I am Situ Qingqing, the newly appointed An Tian envoy. Please give me a message after seeing this transmission talisman."
"Situ family has changed personnel?" Fang Xi was surprised, but he followed her instructions, infused mana, and flicked his hand.
Swish!
The transmission talisman turned into a flame and disappeared.
Not long after, a flying iron leaf boat flew over.
Standing on the boat was a young woman in a blue dress.
She had delicate eyebrows and a slightly pale complexion, her features not particularly outstanding but harmonious, exuding a fairy-like ethereal temperament. Her long hair cascaded down to her waist, resembling a lady stepping out of a landscape painting.
"I have seen Senior Situ!" Fang Xi quickly saluted.
Although she seemed to be in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, she was still a member of the Situ family!
"Senior Fang is also an old friend of our Qingzhu Mountain Spirit Farm, no need to be polite!" Situ Qingqing spoke, her voice as clear and pure as a mountain spring.
(End of this chapter)