Chapter 4

Yin Zhiping had been at the Zhongnan Mountain for two years. He was originally from a prominent family in Lai Zhou, Shandong, and had always been fond of stories about the extraordinary people and heroes in the martial world. The Quanzhen Sect was the largest sect in the world, and the Seven Quanzhen Masters were renowned throughout the nine provinces. From the nobles to the commoners, everyone took pride in befriending the Seven Quanzhen Masters. Therefore, when he heard from a servant that the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, Danyangzi Ma Yu, had appeared in Lai Zhou, he was overjoyed and immediately went out.

After much pleading, Ma Yu finally agreed to take him in. Unfortunately, Ma Yu had no intention of taking him as a disciple and handed him over to Qiu Chuji, the Changchunzi. However, Yin Zhiping had long heard that among the Seven Quanzhen Masters, the one with the highest martial arts was not the leader but the Changchunzi, so he did not resist and was very pleased.

Unfortunately, after Qiu Chuji took him as a disciple, he did not pay much attention to him and instead had his younger senior brother, Li Zhichang, teach him. The time Li Zhichang spent teaching him martial arts was truly a period he would rather forget, causing a devastating blow to his young heart.

From then on, feeding horses, fetching water, and chopping wood became a part of Yin Zhiping's daily life. At first, Yin Zhiping thought this was a test of his cultivation and even used the story of the immortal Han Zhongli testing the Pure Yang Immortal to motivate himself. However, having been pampered since childhood, he was not used to such rough work and was exhausted like a dead dog after just a few days.

At this moment, the eldest senior brother, Li Zhichang, asked with concern, "Zhiping, are you too tired?" Yin Zhiping replied excitedly, "A bit."

Li Zhichang smiled and said, "Senior brother will teach you a method. When you work, do it like this..."

Li Zhichang taught him a set of breathing techniques. Strangely enough, following Li Zhichang's method, his back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and even the usually unpalatable food became more delicious. However, this was the root cause of all his miserable life.

Seeing that Yin Zhiping was no longer as exhausted as a dead dog, Li Zhichang doubled his workload and required him to split the wood into thirty-six equal parts. When Yin Zhiping finally managed to meet the requirements after much hardship, the devilish Li Zhichang made him tend the fire. Not only did he have to tend the fire, but he also had to do it without a fire poker, using only his palm to increase the flame. At that time, he was still a beginner and did not know that this palm technique was the foundation of the Quanzhen Sect's ultimate skill, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, which was the most exhausting. Each time he tended the fire, he was more exhausted than chopping wood for a whole day.

By the way, the eldest senior brother had long taught him the basic cultivation techniques. Strangely enough, after finishing his work each day, Yin Zhiping practiced the internal cultivation techniques and quickly entered a meditative state. Due to the deep meditation, he often woke up the next day feeling refreshed. As his skills improved, he wanted to rebel, but fortunately, he did not act on it.

One day, he saw his uncle Wang Chuyi's disciple, Zhao Zhijing, provoke the eldest senior brother, apparently over some issue with the morning prayers. Zhao Zhijing, the top disciple of the third generation, had long been annoyed by Yin Zhiping and Li Zhichang's frequent absence from the morning prayers. This unwarranted resentment left Yin Zhiping feeling quite helpless. Once, Zhao Zhijing came to talk to Li Zhichang, who was engrossed in reading a book, which infuriated Zhao Zhijing. He struck a palm at Li Zhichang.

Li Zhichang seemed not to notice, or at least Yin Zhiping did not see what happened. Zhao Zhijing was grabbed by the shoulder with one hand, and like an adult picking up a child, he was thrown over the courtyard wall, landing in a flat, spread-eagled position. He left in a dusty cloud. After that, Zhao Zhijing never bothered them again.

Yin Zhiping's desire to rebel also faded. He had no choice but to obediently follow the eldest senior brother's instructions. That day, the eldest senior brother said smugly, "Zhiping, don't look at Old Zhao, who is big and strong and the top disciple. In this world, the one with the biggest fists is the one who makes the rules. As the Great Ancestor said, 'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.'" Yin Zhiping could not remember when the Great Ancestor said this, but one thing was true: the one with the biggest fists was the one who made the rules, and the eldest senior brother had the biggest fists, so the eldest senior brother was the one who made the rules. While Yin Zhiping recalled his hardships and sweetness in Chongyang Palace, Li Zhichang was washing and training his body in the waterfall he had discovered.

After practicing the Thirteen Tai Bao techniques for several years, Li Zhichang's body developed more perfectly. Although he was only fifteen, he had the height of an adult. Taking off his Daoist robe, his muscles were well-defined, exuding explosive power. However, if he reached the highest level, he would return to simplicity, becoming ordinary and unremarkable, making it hard to tell that he possessed the world's top external martial arts. Compared to his physical training, Li Zhichang's internal cultivation did not progress as quickly as he had imagined, only reaching the level of Qiu Chuji.

Li Zhichang's realm was still very high. Climbing Mount Dong and looking down on Lu, climbing Mount Tai and looking down on the world. The Seven Quanzhen Masters were considered top-notch martial artists in the martial world, but in his eyes, they were just that.

Li Zhichang was originally a person with no great ambitions, with a calm and easy-going personality. He was not particularly concerned about whether he was the best martial artist in the world. At this moment, he jumped out of the waterfall onto a large rock, sat cross-legged, and entered a state of calm, neither worried nor happy, neither anxious nor agitated. The Quanzhen Sect's cultivation techniques were familiar to him. At this moment, a fast-moving pebble flew towards his back. Although it was fast, it seemed slow in his perception.

At this moment, he was running his internal cultivation and could not immediately stand up. The pebble would not have hurt him, but he was not the type to take it lying down. He forcibly changed his true qi flow, gathering it on his back, which absorbed the force of the pebble like a sponge. He then converted the negative force into positive force and sent the pebble back along its original path. He heard a soft scolding, but Li Zhichang did not show any mercy just because the person was a woman.

Without waiting for the qi to stabilize, he followed her. She was quick to react and had already run several dozen feet, becoming a black dot under the trees. Initially, Li Zhichang was far behind her because he had not yet converted his true qi. After running a few miles, his breath had stabilized, and his internal strength was far greater than hers. In less than half a moment, the figure in front of him became clearer. It was a girl in a light yellow robe. They chased each other, but the dense trees and the girl's agility made it difficult for Li Zhichang to catch up. However, her endurance was far less than his, and she could not last long. Li Zhichang was not in a hurry. Soon, he was about to catch her, but the yellow-robed girl suddenly crouched and crawled under a bush.

Li Zhichang, being tall, could not crawl under the bush, and even if he could, he would not have the face to do so. By the time he circled around the bush, the yellow-robed girl had already disappeared. The yellow-robed girl, after crawling under the bush, ran forward. After a while, she could no longer hear the footsteps behind her, but she did not dare to stop. She avoided the road and ran through the grass and rocks. Eventually, her body was so sore that she could no longer run and had to sit on a rock to catch her breath.

After a while, her flushed face said, "That stinky Daoist is so fast, but I just wanted to play a trick on him. Is it worth getting so worked up?"

At this moment, her legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and she could not stand up. Suddenly, she heard a cold laugh behind her. The yellow-robed girl was startled and turned around, her heart almost jumping out of her mouth. Behind her stood a small Daoist with a frowning face, smiling at her. The yellow-robed girl thought, "I'm done for. If my master finds out that I was caught by a stinky Daoist from the Quanzhen Sect, I don't know what punishment I'll receive."

Suddenly, she found the strength to run forward. Li Zhichang had been chasing her for a while, and his anger had already subsided. He did not immediately catch up but found it amusing to follow her at a leisurely pace. Whenever the yellow-robed girl slowed down, he would catch up, scaring her into running again. After a few rounds, the yellow-robed girl realized he was playing with her but did not dare to let Li Zhichang catch her. Suddenly, she saw a deep ravine ahead with no way out, but she was delighted. She was finally home.

She jumped down, and Li Zhichang, seeing her sudden jump, was startled. He did not want her to really jump down because he did not know what was ahead. If something happened to her, it would not be his intention. He suddenly exerted his strength, moving several times faster than before, using the Quanzhen Sect's lightness skill. In a few steps, he crossed the distance and grabbed the yellow-robed girl's hand. The yellow-robed girl was shocked and shouted, "Master, come and save me!" Her voice was clear but weak from the long run.

The page turns, and the advertisement begins.

The page turns, and the advertisement ends.