Chapter 50

After bidding farewell to the chubby Hu Dashao, and agreeing on the date and location for the next gathering, Lin Sha and his two guards left Kunming before the city gates closed...

On the way back, his mood remained cheerful.

What they say is true: "You can search high and low without finding what you seek, but when it comes, it comes without effort." This was exactly the case!

He had come to the city in the morning, hoping to witness the prowess of martial arts experts, but ended up wandering around aimlessly for half a day without even catching a glimpse of a master.

But for someone like Hu Dashao, a wealthy young master, this was no big deal. He casually revealed information about the martial artists in Kunming.

The Diancang Sect!

This sect barely had any presence in the Jin Yong martial arts world.

Lin Sha had no particular impression of the Diancang Sect, but since Old Wu was guarded by a Diancang Sect expert and was described by the chubby Hu Dashao as a dominant force in the Yunnan martial arts world, there must be something special about it.

There was no need to rush into investigating these matters; after all, Ao Bai was still alive, and he had plenty of time!

While the Diancang Sect might not be well-known, the Wuxian Sect, also known as the Wudu Sect, was undoubtedly a prominent martial arts sect in the Jin Yong world.

From "The Return of the Condor Heroes" to "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," and then to "The Sword of Heaven and Earth," the Wudu Sect was a well-known name in the martial arts world.

Their martial arts might be unknown, but their poison techniques were undoubtedly top-notch.

In "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Li Mochou's Five Poison Palm, the highly skilled Lan Fenghuang in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," and He Tieshou, one of the main villains in "The Sword of Heaven and Earth," each could stir up a storm in the martial arts world, showing that the Wudu Sect had its unique strengths.

The southwestern Miao and Gu techniques made the Central Plains martial arts world tremble, and the Wudu Sect, being the originator of Gu techniques, was feared not only by martial artists but also by the government.

As a major sect with a history of over a thousand years, it was foolish to believe that the Wudu Sect did not possess profound martial arts manuals. Their sect's signature technique, the "Five Poison Manual," was a top-tier internal cultivation method in the "Return of the Condor Heroes" era, and in the recent "The Sword of Heaven and Earth" world, it was an unparalleled divine skill!

Moreover, the famous Golden Snake Sword in the "The Sword of Heaven and Earth" world originally came from the Wudu Sect!

Unfortunately, his current status was too low, and it was almost impossible to come into contact with the core disciples of the Diancang Sect or the Wuxian Sect.

Although Hu Dashao had considerable influence in the political arena, whether he had any weight in the eyes of the two dominant sects in the southwestern martial arts world was highly questionable.

Hu Dashao did not want to lose face, and Lin Sha did not want his friend to lose face over his matters, so he did not mention any introductions or formalities at the teahouse. Everything could wait until their status and position improved.

According to the chubby Hu Dashao, the southwestern martial arts world was dominated by the Diancang Sect and the Wudu Sect, with other smaller sects merely surviving by relying on these two major powers. They lacked both depth and strength, so there was no need to spend too much time and energy on them.

Of course, there was one special existence in the Yunnan martial arts world that even the Prince of Pingxi did not dare to provoke lightly.

That was the Mu Wangfu from "The Deer and the Cauldron"!

To say that the Mu Wangfu was extremely powerful or had formidable martial arts was not entirely accurate.

Mainly, during the Ming Dynasty, the Mu Wangfu had been the hereditary guardian of Yunnan for nearly three hundred years, carefully cultivating a vast network of connections and hidden influence that was hard to imagine.

No matter whether they liked it or not, any force operating in Yunnan had to give the Mu Wangfu some face, or the consequences could be severe.

Learning so much about the Yunnan martial arts world, Lin Sha was temporarily satisfied.

There was no unowned Lanhuan Fudi from "Demigods and Half-Devils," no ancient tomb secret chamber from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," no "Nine Yang Manual" that could be stumbled upon in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," and the "Golden Snake Manual" in a mysterious cave on the peak of Mount Hua in "The Sword of Heaven and Earth" had already been obtained by Yuan Chengzhi. He had little chance of obtaining martial arts manuals for free.

Since that was the case, he might as well focus on improving his internal martial arts skills. Once he reached the level of hidden strength and his meridians were unblocked, he could then look for opportunities to search for internal cultivation methods.

...

"Everyone, perk up! Did you not eat last night?"

Excited, Lin Sha pushed his subordinates even harder during the morning training the next day.

"Move faster! The last five will have double training and clean the latrines for ten days!"

The punishment measures immediately spurred the soldiers to action, each striving to avoid being among the last five, not just to save face but also to avoid embarrassment.

"What's wrong with the大人 today? Why is he so fierce?"

"Who knows? I'm about to fall apart!"

"Shh, keep it down. The大人 is looking over here. Don't get caught!"

"..."

The entire camp was filled with groans. In the cool morning breeze, Lin Sha, the battalion commander, drove his men like ducks, making them sweat profusely and complain bitterly.

"Hmph, this kid just likes to cause trouble!"

In a corner of the camp, a few officers and some rough soldiers gathered, sneering at the intense training ground.

"Exactly, only two meals a day, one dry and one wet. If we keep training like this, we'll die!"

"Serves them right. They didn't want to follow us, so they deserve to be tortured to death!"

"Lin Sha seems a bit off today. He's too excited. Did he run into something good?"

"Who cares what good thing it is? If there's a problem with the training, I'll report it to Commander Li!"

"..."

Although Lin Sha was excited, he didn't lose his head. After the usual half-hour of training, he called a halt. The men in the logistics battalion were not in great physical condition, and if someone died during training, it would be a big problem.

After breakfast and a fifteen-minute break, he did not leave the camp as usual but called his subordinates, the battalion leaders, to the main tent for a meeting.

After so much time, he had a good understanding of the logistics battalion and had gained a certain level of control. It was time to start improving the men's skills.

For a logistics battalion, besides the individual combat skills of the soldiers, the most important thing was the transportation and supply of logistics during wartime. How to effectively and quickly achieve the predetermined supply tasks was the focus of Lin Sha's discussion with his men.

He didn't know if the Yunnan Green Standard Army under Old Wu was elite, but he knew that Old Wu was generous to his men.

Just his logistics battalion of a hundred or so men had nearly twenty small Yunnan horses, about ten large supply wagons, several wheelbarrows, and various other transport tools, capable of transporting enough supplies for a thousand troops for half a month.

However, except for the Yunnan horses, which were often used for personal purposes, the other transport tools were mostly left to gather dust in the warehouse, only to be taken out for show if a superior officer came for an inspection.

This was not what Lin Sha wanted. If there was a war and the logistics supplies failed to arrive on time, who would be held responsible?

He still had to search for internal cultivation manuals and become a legendary martial arts expert who could leap over walls and walk on roofs.

"Everyone, let's discuss this. The men's skills need to be honed..."