42: Chapter 42 Peak of Grandmaster

County Magistrate Liu Pingshan was giving instructions to the secretary regarding post-incident arrangements when he heard this, paused in his steps, and turned his head to glance at his son.

In that one look, everything was understood.

"Do you know what you are saying?" County Magistrate Liu Pingshan retorted.

"I want to join the Cangyun Sect to refine my Martial Dao." Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue clenched his fists and then relaxed them. "I am only at the Innate Middle Stage; if I go to the Cangyun Sect, I might still have a chance..."

"You are going to the Cangyun Sect to refine your Martial Dao?" County Magistrate Liu Pingshan waved his hand to dismiss those around him, walked up to his son, and lowered his voice. "Jiangyue, although your father's cultivation is not great, my eyes are not blind."

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue's lips moved, but he could not speak.

"Do you think Senior Sister Lin Shuang saved you because she views you differently?" County Magistrate Liu Pingshan reached out and tapped his son's forehead. "Use your brain and think. She is at the Grandmaster Late Stage and only used three moves to kill the Red Viper. Saving you was just a casual act. If anyone else had been standing in front of the Red Viper, she would have saved them all the same."

"But she said..."

"She said 'You should not die here'." County Magistrate Liu Pingshan took over the conversation. "What does this sentence mean? It means you are too weak and should not have been standing in that position. It was a warning, not a romantic remark."

The color gradually drained from Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue's face.

"Son, you know your own worth. Being at the Innate Middle Stage is indeed top-tier in our Qingyang County, but what is that in her eyes? A True Disciple of the Cangyun Sect, the closing-door disciple of the Grand Elder, a Grandmaster Late Stage at twenty-eight—she is a talent seen once in a hundred years across the entire world. What is her status? What is yours?" County Magistrate Liu Pingshan patted his son's shoulder, his tone softening, but his words remained harsh. "Even if she wanted to find someone to marry, the people lined up in front of you could stretch from the gates of the Cangyun Sect all the way to the front of our county office."

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue stood in place, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists.

After a long while, he loosened his hands and let out a long sigh.

"I understand." He pulled at the corners of his mouth, his smile somewhat bitter, but he did not dwell on it too much. "That is true; I should just continue being a good Chief Constable."

He turned and walked into the county office, but stopped after two steps.

"But I feel that she really is different towards me." He said this without looking back, then strode inside.

County Magistrate Liu Pingshan watched his son's back, shook his head, and muttered softly: "Young people."

In truth, there was one more thing he did not say. Judging by the expressions of Senior Sister Lin Shuang and Senior Brother Gu Changfeng, his foolish son seemed to have been used as a human shield. He only hoped that Senior Brother Gu Changfeng would not hold a grudge against the Liu family because of this...

After returning to the Cangyun Sect, when Senior Brother Gu Changfeng came to report, his attitude was as normal as ever, and he remained polite and thoughtful toward you, but the excessive concern and inquiries disappeared.

He no longer took the initiative to come find you for tea, no longer "happened to run into you" on the road, and no longer used various excuses to appear in front of your residence.

You did not know the reason, nor did you go to ask.

But it was true that you felt relieved.

It was peaceful.

You went into seclusion once again.

This time, your goal was very clear—Grandmaster Peak.

The later stages of cultivating the Taixu Visualization Method became increasingly difficult. Every session of visualization felt like throwing your entire being into an endless Void Realm to be repeatedly ground down, but with the Steadfast Heart, your mind always remained clear.

In the eleventh month of seclusion, the barrier to the Grandmaster Peak appeared.

In the twenty-first month of seclusion—

Boom.

The Protective Aura within your body was like water breaking through a dam, rushing past the final barrier, surging and churning through your Meridians. Every inch of muscle and every bone was transformed in the baptism of this power.

Grandmaster Peak.

You opened your eyes and let out a long breath of stale air. This breath turned into a visible white line that shot out three zhang before dissipating into the air.

Five years had passed since you joined the Cangyun Sect, and fourteen years since you began this simulation.

You were thirty years old this year.

Grandmaster Peak.

Only one step away from being a Great Grandmaster.

You stood up and pushed open the door to the training room.

The sunlight shone on your face, somewhat dazzling. The ginkgo tree in the courtyard had turned yellow twice more. Xiao Wang was lying under the tree, its size now so large it could barely fit under the shade, but it was becoming increasingly lethargic.

Xiao Wang... It was getting old...

Xiao He ran out from the side room, her hands trembling as she bowed.

"Senior Sister... You, you have achieved a Breakthrough?"

"Yes," you replied. "Recently, have there been any major events outside?"

Xiao He's expression suddenly became grave.

"Senior Sister, the Black Tiger Gang... is causing more and more trouble."

You did not speak, waiting for her to continue.

"The leader of the Black Tiger Gang, Wei Feisen, has already broken through to Great Grandmaster. Furthermore, he somehow obtained a batch of very powerful items and has swallowed thirty-seven Jianghu Schools within a year, even wiping out the Iron Sword Alliance of the Central Province. As for the imperial court... I heard that not only did they not encircle and suppress him, but they even bestowed upon him the title of 'Martial Saint Protecting the Nation'." Xiao He lowered her voice. "The Sect Head has held several closed-door meetings regarding this matter. Rumors outside say that the Black Tiger Gang's next target is The Ten Great Sects."

You stood in the courtyard, looking at Xiao Wang.

It lay under the ginkgo tree, breathing evenly, its tail occasionally sweeping across the fallen leaves.

Its eyelids were drooping, and even your emergence from seclusion could not make it lift its head; it only twitched its nose, confirmed it was you, and continued lying there.

Being this lazy, who knows who it takes after.

You withdrew your gaze and turned to Xiao He.

"Tell me more details about the Black Tiger Gang."

Xiao He hurriedly pulled a stack of slips from her sleeve; these were the summaries of Jianghu news she had compiled for you over the past two years.

"The leader, Wei Feisen, was confirmed to have broken through to Great Grandmaster a year ago, after which he began to annex Schools on a large scale. The thirty-seven Schools of the Eastern Province, the Iron Sword Alliance of the Central Province, and the Listening Rain Pavilion of the Southern Province were all wiped out, with no survivors."

You flipped through the slips, your expression unchanged.

"What about the rumor of the 'Immortal's Descent'?"

Xiao He shook her head: "There are only rumors; no one has actually seen it. But some very strange items have appeared in the hands of the Black Tiger Gang members. Some say they are 'Talismans' that, when stuck on the body, allow an Innate Martial Artist's punch to hit with the power of a Grandmaster. Others say there is a person in white robes by Wei Feisen's side who never shows their face and never speaks."

Talisman.

You turned these two words over in your mind.

If the Immortal Cultivation system is real, then Talismans are the means of an Immortal Cultivator. A Cultivator standing behind Wei Feisen explains why the Martial Dao Sect dares not move against him; the Old Ancestor of the Martial Dao Sect is an Earthly Immortal, and it seems even an Earthly Immortal dares not offend an Immortal Cultivator.

You felt both excited and somewhat melancholy.

Why would this Cultivator help a Mortal like Wei Feisen...

Did the Cultivator appear only after the rumor of the Immortal's Descent emerged, or had they already been by Wei Feisen's side for a long time...

You closed the slips, took a deep breath, and calmed your emotions.

"I understand."

Three days later, an Outer Sect Disciple came running in a hurry to deliver a message.

"Senior Sister Lin! The Sect Head is summoning all Core Disciples from every Peak to the Main Peak Assembly Hall, immediately!"