Chapter 94

When the next day came, Lin Sha suddenly called the two women to pack their things and prepare to leave Kunming, which drew a look of surprise from both of them. It wasn't until the order from the Pingxi Wang's mansion arrived that they finally calmed down.

General Hu Da was truly considerate to him, not only transferring him to Chuxiong to serve as a garrison commander but also helping him secure the condition of being able to bring two battalions of troops with him.

Lin Sha naturally chose the battalion that had fought alongside him and the earliest regular battalion. However, the transfer of troops could not be completed in a short time, and he did not want to tangle too much with Wu Yingxiong, who was soon to be a eunuch.

Therefore, he entrusted the follow-up matters of the two battalions' transfer to Hu Guozhu. The next day after receiving the order, he didn't inform anyone, took fifty bodyguards and the servants and maids who were willing to follow him, and quietly left in five large carriages.

By the time Wu Yingxiong got the news and rushed over in a rage, the Lin residence had already become an empty house!

Lin Sha's group traveled during the day and rested at night, covering only dozens of miles each day. On rainy days, they would stay in the inn and not go out. After nearly ten days of travel, they had only covered half the distance.

One day, as the group passed through a valley between two mountains, suddenly over a hundred strong men, each armed with knives and swords, rushed out from the dense forests on both sides. These men were fierce and intimidating.

These bandits split into two groups, one in front and one behind, completely blocking the retreat of Lin Sha's group.

Lin Sha ordered his bodyguards to prepare for battle and sent a man with a loud voice to ask what was going on. The answer he received was both expected and unexpected!

It was the Five Poisons Sect!

Their demand was simple: leave behind the "Five Poisons Manual" and the two women, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping. Lin Sha would never agree to this. He was already seething with anger after being forced out of Kunming, and now the Five Poisons Sect had come to his doorstep.

Without a word, he spurred his horse and thrust his spear. In the blink of an eye, two of the bandit leaders were dead, and another had his head blown off.

At the same time, the fifty bodyguards, leaving ten to guard the carriages, split into two groups and charged at the bandits, who outnumbered them two to one. They immediately unleashed a barrage of sharp arrows, felling a large number of bandits, then spurred their horses forward, cutting and slashing.

These were veterans who had survived many battles. Their individual skills and teamwork were extremely formidable, far beyond what the bandits, gathered by the Five Poisons Sect from who knows where, could withstand!

The bandits' defeat was swift and complete!

Over a hundred bandits were severely injured or killed by the forty bodyguards, and Lin Sha, leading the charge, personally killed no fewer than ten bandits!

If not for the concern that the Five Poisons Sect disciples among the bandits might use poison without hesitation, he would not have let these troublemakers off so easily!

The sudden battle ended with Lin Sha and his forty bodyguards victorious. The bandits suffered heavy casualties, while only five of Lin Sha's side were injured.

After quickly clearing the battlefield, he sent elite riders to the nearest county to inform the local authorities to handle the aftermath, while his group continued on to Chuxiong.

...

The rest of the journey was smooth, and they arrived in Chuxiong without any further incidents.

In Chuxiong, they settled down, visited the local officials, took over the garrison left by the previous commander, and accepted invitations to banquets hosted by local gentry. In short, Lin Sha was busy for about half a month after arriving in Chuxiong.

By the time everything was settled, it was already deep winter.

Yunnan's winter was still warm, just a bit more humid. For a martial artist like Lin Sha, who had abundant qi and blood, a few thin shirts were enough.

Fang Yi and Mu Jianping quickly adapted to life in Chuxiong. They were used to wandering with the Mu Wang's army and had already adapted to such a lifestyle.

Without the large group of nobles in Kunming, Lin Sha, as the garrison commander, was one of the most powerful figures in Chuxiong, and the most influential one.

Every day, besides managing military affairs, assigning his subordinates to take turns leading troops to suppress bandits and gain combat experience, and interacting with local officials, he spent most of his time practicing internal martial arts and cultivating his inner strength.

There was not much to say about internal martial arts; it was a process of gradual refinement. First, one must develop strength in the limbs, then extend it to the entire body. When the strength in the body is perfectly harmonized, one reaches the realm of transformation.

Currently, Lin Sha was still in the stage of developing strength in his limbs, and there were no obvious changes in the short term.

On the contrary, his cultivation of inner strength progressed rapidly. The effects of the Hidden Strength Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound on the internal organs benefited the twelve main meridians to varying degrees.

At present, besides the completely unblocked Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian, the other meridians, such as the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian, Hand-Jueyin Pericardium Meridian, Hand-Shaoyin Heart Meridian, Hand-Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, Hand-Shaoyang Triple Energizer Meridian, Hand-Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian, Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian, Foot-Jueyin Liver Meridian, Foot-Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian, and Foot-Taiyang Bladder Meridian, were all exercised and developed to varying degrees, with some acupoints completely unblocked.

Through the inner energy circulation method shown in the "Five Poisons Manual," the inner energy circulated through the twelve main meridians, gradually growing stronger and enhancing his physical attributes.

Moreover, the techniques for using inner energy described in the "Five Poisons Manual" were gradually experimented with, familiarized, and mastered, making his use of inner energy in combat increasingly proficient.

In short, besides the gradual and subtle improvement of physical attributes, making his body far superior to ordinary people, the most important function of inner energy was to briefly stimulate acupoints and meridians, giving the user 'superhuman' abilities, such as the incredible skill of lightness.

Since inner energy was cultivated by oneself, unless it was excessively consumed, it had few side effects. Long-term cultivation of certain body parts would continuously strengthen them, eventually leading to a qualitative change and producing astonishing results.

For Lin Sha, although the cultivation of inner energy was rapid, it did not result in a dramatic increase in his combat power. However, the improvement in his physical attributes was clearly accelerating, and the cultivation of Hidden Strength was also showing signs of speeding up.

This was a good thing!

Although he was somewhat disappointed that the cultivation of inner strength was not as miraculous as he had imagined, the current results were enough to satisfy him.

He was not foolish; he knew that with his increasingly strong Visible Strength, he had already勉强挤身江湖一流好手之列. If he could use Hidden Strength or even combine Visible and Hidden Strength with ease, his real strength would not be much different from that of the so-called top martial artists.

He did not know the answer, but he was confident enough to try. When his Hidden Strength reached the mid-stage, he estimated that his strength would be enough to dominate the martial world in Yunnan!

Of course, this would depend on the results of battles with top martial artists...