Spring fades and autumn arrives.
In the blink of an eye, another year has passed.
Fang Xi raised a glass of wine, silently celebrating his nineteenth birthday.
"The Southern Wilderness... I wonder how it is now?"
He had casually crossed over to a place back then, theoretically there shouldn't be too much danger in crossing back.
But Fang Xi decided to wait until he became a Grandmaster before going back to check.
After all, the concept of time for cultivators was different from that of ordinary people.
A war could last for decades, even centuries.
It must be chaotic near the Qingzhu Mountain now, so he decided to endure for now.
Having cultivated to the level of a Fourth Step Martial Master, the next step was to merge with heaven and earth, focusing on enlightenment, with little requirement for external environment and resources.
However, what Fang Xi feared the most was this lack of requirement!
Otherwise, he might be able to break through directly with spiritual pills!
"There might be a way... It is rumored that at the auction held in Qingzhu Mountain, there was once an 'Enlightenment Pill' auctioned, which could temporarily increase a cultivator's enlightenment... and was finally auctioned off at a high price of several hundred spirit stones."
"If I had one, perhaps it could accelerate my understanding of the unity of heaven and man?"
"Unfortunately, even if I have spirit stones, I may not be able to buy it."
Fang Xi sighed and tidied up a piece of wolf skin on the table.
This was a piece of wolf skin he had purchased at a high price in Sanyuan City! The skin of a wolf demon!
In addition to the wolf skin, there was also a string of wolf teeth necklace, which he also collected as part of his collection.
These things would be his spirit stones in the Southern Wilderness in the future!
Unfortunately, with Fang Leng's identity, occasionally collecting some monster materials could be considered a personal interest, but buying a large amount would attract attention.
Moreover, the largest channel for monster materials in Sanyuan City was still at the Monster Hunting Association!
"Someday, everything will be under the Fang name!"
"But not in a hurry now."
Fang Xi put away the wolf skin and went to the training ground.
Sun Hongdie had been discouraged by him and married off, so now there were only a few people in the training ground, all of whom were his later students.
"Master!"
Becoming the eldest senior brother, 'Qing Sang' had grown rapidly due to sufficient food and had begun to practice martial arts again. In the past year, he had grown rapidly and now had a somewhat adult appearance.
Especially after defeating a street full of beggars, he had taken back the territory of that street from the original beggar gang, gathered many young beggars, not only begging as usual, but also monopolizing the business of buying and selling vegetables, incense, and other goods. Although not making a fortune, it was far better than the average commoner, and he now lived in a rented house near the martial arts hall.
"Well... you have reached the Three Changes of Qi and Blood? Not bad, not bad!"
Fang Xi glanced over and knew that Qing Sang had made a breakthrough in his martial arts realm.
"All thanks to Master's teachings on weekdays!"
Qing Sang smiled humbly, "I am far inferior to Ah Dai... he had condensed true power before January. This year, the Martial Alliance will select the Eight Steeds. I think Junior Brother is very likely to be selected. By then, Master's martial arts hall will be famous in one battle."
The Martial Alliance was an alliance of martial arts schools, and as for the selection of new talents, Fang Xi had never cared about it.
But what surprised him was that among the new talents this time, there was actually someone from the Baiyun Martial Hall, Zhang Mingding!
Originally a beggar, he was adopted by Zhang Junming, and now with his achievements, it must be comforting for Zhang Junming in the heavens.
"By the way... where is Ah Dai?"
Fang Xi scanned around, not finding Ah Dai, and asked curiously.
"There was a disturbance at the street corner, and Junior Brother Ah Dai has a sense of justice, so he has gone to deal with it." Qing Sang calmly replied, "It's the Black Tiger Gang causing trouble and extorting more money..."
"I see."
Fang Xi understood.
In the past two years, the power struggles of the gangs in Sanyuan City had been quite chaotic, going through several major reshuffles.
And the main reason for this was actually because of him!
Because the Huang Family fell!
As one of the Four Great Families, the Huang Family quickly declined after their strongest expert was killed by Fang Xi, and their ancestral home was turned upside down.
In just a few months, they were even found wiped out, with not a single survivor among the family members.
The remaining three Great Families and other forces quietly divided up the benefits that the Huang Family had originally occupied.
After the collapse of the Huang Family, the big fish at the top and the small fish at the bottom fought fiercely for a little leftover.
This caused a certain amount of chaos, and during that time, the gang conflicts were particularly intense, but it had nothing to do with ordinary people.
Not long after, a young man in a green robe walked out from outside the martial arts hall.
He still had average features, dull eyes, and a silly appearance.
"Senior Brother Qingmu!"
"Hello, Senior Brother Qingmu!"
But the martial arts apprentices did not dare to be negligent and saluted one after another.
Yes, Ah Dai's real name was Qingmu, a name given by Fang Xi, and then Ah Dai took Qing as his surname along with Qing Sang.
But Qing Sang and Fang Xi still preferred to call him Ah Dai.
"Master, Big Brother... it's been resolved."
Qingmu came to Fang Xi, bowed first, and then said to Qing Sang.
He was now at the level of a martial arts hall master. In other cities, he could even open a martial arts hall and make a name for himself, no, establish a sect.
"Well, it's good that it's resolved. Oh?"
Fang Xi approached and touched Qingmu's arm, "Your accumulation of Qi and Blood is progressing rapidly... even the True Power Realm can't hold you back. Good, good..."
He nodded repeatedly, very pleased.
After all, the concept of the Primordial Spirit Intent was something he had casually drawn, but Qingmu was able to break through with it, indicating that his path was correct!
If the other party could continue along the path of the Primordial Spirit Intent, all the way to condensing True Strength, it meant that the foundation of this Primordial Spirit Intent had been solidified, with no major flaws.
"Unfortunately... I am just a mere True Strength... but how about this, come over tonight, I have some insights and experiences to share with you, and we can discuss them together."
Fang Xi now publicly claimed to be a martial arts hall master at the True Strength Realm.
After all, even in the Martial Alliance, those who could break through to become True Strength Martial Masters were very few.
Fang Xi naturally didn't want to attract attention.
"Master, are you saying that our Primordial Spirit Intent might be able to advance to the Martial Master level?"
Qing Sang's eyes lit up, and he quickly patted Qingmu's head, "Quick, thank Master!"
After all, that was a Martial Master!
Although Sanyuan City was the capital of Dingzhou, the major powers strictly sealed off some high-level martial arts and secret techniques.
A Martial Master was truly at the top.
Therefore, how precious was a martial art that could possibly be cultivated to the level of a Martial Master? At least Qing Sang couldn't imagine it.
"Oh, thank you, Master."
Compared to Qing Sang, Qingmu was still silly and dumb, only knowing to thank him after being patted on the head.
...
Yuanhe Mountain.
Leiji Peak.
Linghusan was half lying on a recliner, in front of him was a huge copper hotpot.
Wooden charcoal carved into various animal shapes burst into flames, licking the bottom of the pot cheerfully, causing the milky white soup inside to boil.
On the surrounding porcelain plates, there were piles of beef, mutton, and various vegetables.
Next to it was a crystal basin made of ice, filled with various chilled fruits, very beautiful, and at the same time arousing people's appetite.
"Linghusan!"
Fang Xi walked over and casually threw a huge yellow gourd over.
"Hmm?"
Linghusan took it, unplugged the gourd, and gulped down a big mouthful, then sighed with satisfaction, "Good wine..."
Fang Xi sat in front of the hotpot, picked up the chopsticks to pick up the meat, while muttering, "I always feel like you are trying to trick me. That so-called Grandmaster's Red Dust Refining Heart, I feel like it has no effect at all..."
"Haha, young friend is too impatient. It's only been a few years... This Spirit Monkey Wine is good, bring more next time!"
Linghusan drank heavily, ate heartily, his mouth full of meat and wine, he spoke in a muffled voice, "Even though young friend has extraordinary talent, to break through to a Grandmaster, you still need to wait for the opportunity... In fact, if young friend breaks through within ten years, I'm afraid your martial talent will rank among the top in Dingzhou in a hundred years, even the old folks of the 'Grandmaster Meeting' will be alarmed."
"The Grandmaster Meeting? What kind of organization is that?" Fang Xi became interested.
Talking with Linghusan, he could always learn some inside information, which was one of the reasons why he occasionally came to find Linghusan.
"The Grandmaster Meeting... is a mysterious organization spread throughout Dalang. The entry requirement is a True Strength Martial Saint, said to be for exploring realms beyond the Martial Saint..." Linghusan fell into a certain emotion.
"Beyond the Martial Saint?!" Fang Xi's heart stirred, "Have they found it?"
"Unfortunately, no, the Grandmaster is the limit for martial artists." Linghusan shook his head regretfully.
"That's a pity."
Fang Xi felt a little regretful.
He had thought that there could be Body Refining Stage cultivators in this world, but he didn't expect that the True Strength Martial Saint was the limit!
"The Grandmaster Meeting is a group of dissatisfied people who formed the organization. They believe that beyond the Martial Saint, there must be other realms, and then they began to study demons... especially the immortality and curse characteristics of demons, which are seen as new hopes. They have done many cruel experiments, but unfortunately, there have been no follow-ups..." Linghusan sighed.
"Studying... demons?" Fang Xi suddenly sneered, "If we talk about cruel experiments, your Yuanhe Mountain's Demon Sealing Body Refining Technique is not inferior at all. Or... did you obtain this secret technique from the Grandmaster Meeting?"
"Haha, the Grandmaster Meeting is just a loose organization. When I was young, I also joined as an individual." Linghusan did not deny.
"So it seems... in the future, when I become a Grandmaster, I will also go to the Grandmaster Meeting to take a look."
Fang Xi made a decision in his heart.
After eating and drinking his fill, he stood up, "Linghusan, let's have a battle!"
Although he was only a Fourth Step Martial Master now, perhaps by fighting with a Martial Saint, he could gain some insights into the operation of True Strength, taking the first step towards transforming True Strength into True Qi!
"Another fight?"
Linghusan glared, then lay back down, "No fighting, no fighting... your light shield protective secret technique is too tricky, only allowing you to hit me, but not allowing me to hit you, it's no fun at all..."
To be honest, he was quite curious about Fang Leng's secret technique that made him a ghostly figure.
Unfortunately, the other party tightly covered it up and didn't give him a chance to see it.
"Could it be some kind of imitation demon secret technique?"
Linghusan speculated in his heart, then changed the subject, "In fact, whether it's playing in the red dust or breaking through the path of life and death, the most crucial point is to recognize one's own heart, which is the starting point of a Grandmaster!"
"The heart of a Grandmaster? My heart?" Fang Xi was taken aback.
(End of this chapter)