frightfiction Chapter 216 The Camp of the Martial Elders
Chapter 216 The Camp of the Martial Elders
Chapter 216 The Camp of the Martial Elders Association
In the current Refining Heart City, Master Xiao's pills are renowned for their excellence and rarity, making them extremely difficult to obtain.
Unless you have a good relationship with Master Xiao or his close associates, such as Young Master Long Wu, Master Xu Mingyang of Qingfeng Academy, Sheng Xueyan and Hengfeng of Tianxin Academy, or you can establish connections with the City Lord's Mansion, you can't buy it no matter how rich you are.
Especially for pills that can enhance a martial artist's cultivation, apart from Master Xiao having some in stock, all the others are controlled by the City Lord's Mansion, and the distribution channels are extremely strict, requiring verification of the identity of each person who purchases the pills and registration.
It can be said that the vast majority of those who are lucky enough to obtain one or two of these have a strong background in the clan alliance.
Now that Master Xiao said he could provide a batch of pills for free, everyone was naturally extremely excited, as if they had been injected with chicken blood. As for whether it was free or not, they didn't care at all.
You should know that a pill like the "Life-Creating Pill," which can instantly elevate an ordinary martial artist's cultivation to the Martial Master level, would be considered a priceless treasure if anyone were lucky enough to obtain one.
Which family doesn't have a few important disciples? And which family doesn't have one or two disciples with insufficient martial arts talent?
If this important disciple's identity were not special, then so be it; he could be nurtured to develop in other areas.
But if this important disciple has a special identity, such as the eldest son of the family, or like Helian Tieshu of the Helian family, who is the only son who has been passed down for generations, how can he take on the important responsibility of the family head if he cannot learn martial arts?
Therefore, obtaining a "Life-Creating Pill" that can elevate an ordinary martial artist's cultivation to the Martial Master realm is something that such a small family would absolutely dream of.
As for heaven-defying pills like the "Crossing Tribulation Pill," there's no need to even mention them. Families that obtain such pills would never divulge a word about them, and the pills would be placed in a key family location, heavily guarded, to ensure their transmission to future generations.
If any member of the family were to attempt to reach the Grandmaster realm, and possessed a "Crossing Tribulation Pill," the effect would be entirely different.
Therefore, after receiving Master Xiao's promise, although the grade of the pill was not mentioned, everyone was overjoyed and moved to tears.
Some even said on the spot that Master Xiao's gift of the pill was like a second life, and that after returning home they would build a longevity arch for Master Xiao, burn incense every day and pray every night to bless Master Xiao for thousands of years and many children and grandchildren.
As for the fact that Master Xiao is not yet married and it is too early to bring up the idea of having many children and grandchildren, they would not care about such trivial matters.
Their thoughts are all simple and honest. If someone as outstanding as Master Xiao couldn't have three, four, or even seven or eight wives and concubines, then it would truly be against all reason.
Just as this group of people were immersed in immense joy and their blissful climax lingered, City Lord Sheng Chunshui dropped another bombshell on the crowd.
"Since Master Xiao is so righteous as a student, then the City Lord's Mansion should not be too stingy in its dealings with others."
Sheng Chunshui coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention, and announced with a loud laugh: "In order to unite everyone in fighting against the Wu Elders Association, I have decided to reward those who have made significant contributions."
From now on, anyone who kills a Martial Master level martial artist from the Martial Elders Association will be rewarded with one 'Life-Creating Pill'; anyone who kills a Grandmaster level or higher martial artist in a battle against the Martial Elders Association will be rewarded with one 'Crossing-Again Pill'. This promise will not be broken!
"Really? That's wonderful!"
"Lord Sheng, you'd better keep your word in front of so many people!"
"Yes, Lord Sheng, you can't play tricks on us!"
Upon hearing this news, everyone's emotions surged again, and some people spoke without thinking.
Sheng Chunshui was not offended. He ordered someone to bring a jade box, which was then opened to reveal a box of dark, sticky pills inside. He said, "This is the 'Life-Creating Pill' that you often talk about. To show my sincerity, every force present today will receive one pill."
Why aren't you dividing it up yet? Do you want us to take it by force?
Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on the jade box in Sheng Chunshui's hand. They were all breathing rapidly, their faces flushed, as if they had eaten a powerful tonic that could enhance certain functions.
Damn it! Why are you all staring at me like that? If so many people pounced on me at once, even a grandmaster with an indestructible body couldn't withstand it!
Sheng Chunshui felt a sharp pain in his chrysanthemum, as if it had been struck by a red-hot iron, and he could no longer sit still.
He glanced guiltily at the eager looks in everyone's eyes, not daring to look any longer, and stuffed the jade box into Commander Liu's hand, saying, "I suddenly remembered that I have some important matters to attend to and I have to leave for a while. Please distribute these pills for me."
After saying that, he quickly got up and fled the hall, disappearing without a trace.
"What's wrong with the city lord today? I haven't heard anything special about it. Why did he entrust me with such an important task as distributing pills?"
Commander Liu was quite puzzled.
Fortunately, he was simple-minded and didn't think too much about it. After working for a long time, he finally finished distributing the "Life-Creating Pills" one by one.
After everyone successfully obtained the pills, their emotions gradually calmed down. They all greeted Master Xiao and left the city lord's mansion.
……
Outside Lianxin City, several dozen miles away, lies a valley.
The valley is open and usually covered with lush grass and forests, but it has long been cleared away and replaced by barracks.
It was the dead of night, and all was quiet, yet the campsite was brightly lit.
Zhou Tong had been quite unsettled these past few days; his mind was like a tangled mess of weeds. And the longer it went on, the more tangled these weeds grew.
He was originally a martial artist in the Martial Elders Association, Ximen Xing's deputy, who came here with Ximen Xing to prepare for the conquest of Lianxin City.
Three days ago, Ximen Xing told him that he was going to infiltrate Lianxin City to assassinate a master alchemist named Xiao Chong, and asked him to temporarily handle all affairs in the camp.
Zhou Tong was very curious at the time, so he asked a few more questions. He wanted to know what kind of important person it was that required Lord Ximen to take action personally.
Upon learning that Ximen Xing's assassination target was a pill refiner with only the cultivation of a warrior, Zhou Tong no longer took it to heart.
Master Ximen is a veteran in the association, and his martial arts cultivation has long since reached the Grandmaster level. In his eyes, he is unfathomable.
Zhou Tong felt that sending Lord Ximen to assassinate a warrior was making a mountain out of a molehill, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
In the eyes of a grandmaster, killing a samurai is as simple as crushing an ant, as easy as eating and drinking.
With Lord Ximen taking action, the matter would naturally be resolved easily, without any surprises. Therefore, Zhou Tong had complete confidence in Lord Ximen's trip.
However, things did not go as smoothly as Zhou Tong had imagined, because Lord Ximen did not return that night.
Perhaps Lord Ximen doesn't know the way and hasn't found the alchemist named Xiao Chong? Then let's wait patiently.
The next morning, Zhou Tong did not see any trace of Ximen Xing, and that was his guess.
But the next day passed quickly, and Lord Ximen still did not appear.
Is Lord Ximen so engrossed in his killing spree that he intends to turn Lianxin City into a river of blood? Or...?
A sense of unease rose in Zhou Tong's heart, but it was quickly dispelled by the magnificent scene of Lord Ximen single-handedly taking on an entire city.
Let's just keep waiting.
The second night passed, and the third day arrived as promised. Zhou Tong's waiting slowly turned into agony.
It was late at night on the third day, and Zhou Tong was sitting under the lamp, feeling uneasy. He suddenly had a strong sense of foreboding.
"Three whole days have passed, why hasn't Lord Ximen returned yet?"
"Could it be that Lord Ximen has encountered some accident and fallen into the hands of that alchemist?"
"But this makes no sense at all! With Lord Ximen's cultivation level, let alone a mere alchemist at the Warrior Realm, even if he encountered the City Lord of Refining Heart City, the Grandmaster Sheng Chunshui, he should have the ability to protect himself!"
"If we can't beat the Lord of Refining Heart City, running away shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Zhou Tong felt increasingly uneasy and began pacing anxiously back and forth in the barracks. His anxiety caused him to pluck out more than half of his sparse beard.
Just as he was about to wear out his legs from walking, there was a soft knock on the door, and someone outside called out loudly, "Reporting to Lord Zhou, there is urgent news from Lianxin City."
"Come in quickly!" Zhou Tong's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly ordered the person to enter the house.
"This is a secret letter from within the city. I dare not delay. Please take a look, Lord Zhou."
A martial artist took out a sealed letter from his pocket, gently placed it on the table in front of Zhou Tong, then bowed respectfully and turned to leave the room.
After the messenger left, Zhou Tong took the letter, opened it shakily, and quickly scanned it by the light.
"What? Lord Ximen is really in trouble?"
"The night raid on Xiao Chong failed, and he killed Xiao Chong instead?"
"Is he dead? Or did he die at the hands of a samurai?"
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
As Zhou Tong's eyes scanned the letters, his face grew paler and paler, until it was completely bloodless.
Although he kept saying "absolutely impossible," he knew that for such an important matter, the people lurking in the city would never dare to write anything recklessly without complete certainty.
Click!
The stool beneath him shattered into pieces, and Zhou Tong tripped and fell to the ground.
"I never imagined that the waters in Refining Heart City were so deep. A Grandmaster-level expert could just disappear like that."
"It's over, it's over. Lord Ximen, as the chief executor of this operation, has died suddenly. This will surely enrage the higher-ups in the council. As Lord Ximen's deputy, I, Zhou Tong, might also be implicated..."
"Should I escape? But... that won't work! All my family members are under the watchful eye of the Martial Elders. If I escape, my wife, children, and elderly parents will all be slaughtered, and the Zhou family line will end..."
Zhou Tong muttered to himself absentmindedly, unaware that the cold wind was blowing in through the crack in the door and extinguishing the lamp. He sat on the ground like that until dawn.
When the sun was high in the sky, a group of several hundred people entered the valley.
Upon seeing this procession, someone rushed to Zhou Tong's house to report, only to find that Zhou Tong had already hanged himself from the roof beam.
On his usual desk lay a suicide note.
The suicide note stated that Ximen Xing had stubbornly ventured alone into the City of Refining Hearts and died a violent death. He admitted his failure to dissuade him and thus had no choice but to take his own life to atone for the kindness shown to him by Elder Wu.