Chapter 49: Tengya Mountain Bandit Army
As for the Bull Demon Skill for body refinement, he had tried to practice it long ago, but quickly discovered that body refinement is different from skill training.
Even in this state of potential activation, he couldn’t rely on a flash of inspiration to quickly master the body refining skill.
Although there was some efficiency enhancement, it was only slightly faster than everyday body refinement, and the process also required meals and medicinal supplements.
If he spent a large amount of time on body refinement today, it would be a waste of this rare time-limited state.
Therefore, he devoted all the remaining time to honing his Light Body Skill, hoping to reach mastery of this high-level martial art, which usually had slow progress.
Unfortunately, maybe towards the end, his physical strength was severely depleted, and the efficiency of his practice continued to decline. By the time the potential activation state disappeared, he was still a bit short of experience for a breakthrough.
It was a small imperfection.
Luckily, the accumulated experience wouldn’t disappear, and it wouldn’t take long for him to achieve mastery in Light Body Skill next time.
Elsewhere, in the room of Father Song and Mother Song, the lights were still on. They were worried about Song Changming’s condition and couldn’t persuade him otherwise, staying awake until the early morning hours.
When Song Changming finally stopped and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, they hurriedly wrapped in clothes and rushed out.
"Son, how are you?" Mother Song helped Song Changming up, asking with concern.
"It’s nothing, Mom, today was just special. My martial arts training was exceptionally good, so I wanted to practice more," said Song Changming with a smile after catching his breath.
"Come, have some water and wipe yourself down," Father Song brought a large bowl of clear water and fed it to Song Changming.
"You’re too reckless, no matter what, you shouldn’t overdo it like this..." Mother Song mumbled, to which Song Changming didn’t argue.
Feeling his limbs regain some strength, he sent his parents back to their room to sleep, and he went to the kitchen to stoke the fire and cook meat.
Today he had consumed a lot of energy and was quickly hungry. Without a full stomach, he couldn’t even sleep soundly.
"This potential activation with its time-bound state is excellent, but the triggering conditions are too harsh, and it’s something that can’t be sought after..."
Song Changming sat by the stove, tending to the fire, contemplating to himself.
To actively create life-and-death moments to trigger this potential activation state would be utter madness.
In a moment of life and death, if mishandled, it could mean his end. The risks involved are too great.
Even if he had one life as reassurance, he wouldn’t dare to attempt this path of courting death.
After all, accumulating thirty-six thousand days of lifespan isn’t easy, and it’s best to avoid taking risks where possible.
He seeks steady progress, which he can control and manage.
"Heaven rewards diligence, let’s forget about this potential activation..." Song Changming concluded after weighing his options, shaking his head and muttering to himself.
The next day, Mother Song was initially worried that Song Changming would continue to disregard his body and practice, but upon seeing him relaxing by making tea and playing chess with Father Song, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Song Changming indeed kept his promise to be a martial arts fanatic for only one day.
Today, Song Changming didn’t touch a saber again, at most just picked up a branch from the ground, waving it a few times in the air.
The wounds on his back showed signs of reopening and worsening; even if he wanted to continue practicing, he dared not, otherwise, his injuries would never heal.
Meanwhile, while Song Changming patiently stayed home to recover, the news of the Nine Bends Association’s annihilation by the Patrol Armor Bureau in one night had already spread throughout Houli Street.
Many ordinary citizens who had suffered from the Nine Bends Association rejoiced, showering the newly appointed Patrol Armor Bureau Director Liang Chuan Mountain with praise.
For a while, Liang Chuan Mountain’s reputation in Houli Street City soared.
His first major move was both fierce and incredibly successful.
On this day, as Song Changming was feeding the Bisho Silkworm by the water jar, he unexpectedly saw Lv Gang visit suddenly.
Just like him, Lv Gang was also recuperating at home, so his unexpected visit today was a surprise.
"Changming, there’s a big problem with the leader you killed!" Lv Gang said seriously as soon as he saw Song Changming.
"Which leader?" Song Changming asked as he invited Lv Gang to sit by the stone table in the yard and prepared tea for him.
Lv Gang sat down and continued, "That scar-faced man, the leader of the Nine Bends Association! His real identity is actually one of the leaders of the Tengya Mountain Bandit Army, and his name is on the wanted list.
Vajra Saber, Cao Fushan! Reward Silver, five hundred silver!"
"Wow, he’s worth that much, I wonder if Mr. Liang would share some of it with me," Song Changming raised his eyebrows and said with some surprise.
"..." Lv Gang was momentarily speechless at Song Changming’s first reaction, tapping his fingers on the table, and added, "The reward silver isn’t the point, the key is his identity as a leader of the Tengya Mountain Bandit Army."
Song Changming took a sip of the hot tea and looked at Lv Gang, "That bandit army has been established on Tengya Mountain for many years, and sending people to infiltrate our County City seems normal, right?"
In fact, this Cao Fushan wasn’t the first Tengya Mountain Bandit Army member he had encountered.
Previously, Chen Beihu, who also held a small leader position in the bandit army, was killed by him as well, and he earned his merit as a Patrol Guard by stepping over the opponent’s corpse.
To him, this didn’t seem like an unacceptable issue, considering the proximity of the County City to Tengya Mountain.
"This is different, if it were just him infiltrating the County City alone, it wouldn’t be as concerning.
But he went through the trouble of establishing the Nine Bends Association here and secretly expanding it for many years; there must be other bigger objectives behind this, and it’s highly likely that the bandit army is orchestrating something, directing him to act like this," Lv Gang explained.
"Hmm, this indeed warrants further investigation." Song Changming nodded, agreeing with Lv Gang, and then said.
"However, now that we’ve destroyed the Nine Bends Association and killed that Cao Fushan, even if the Tengya Mountain Bandit Army wanted to use this plan, it’s likely now ruined."
Lv Gang shook his head, "We can’t rule out the possibility that other gangs might have the bandit army’s support behind them. This isn’t just an issue within Houli Street City, it might involve other districts as well!"
"So, Brother Lv, did you come here to tell me that Mr. Liang wants me to return and investigate this matter?" Song Changming asked.
"No, the Director went to the General Department to report this matter, and no instructions have been given yet. I just came to inform you as soon as I heard.
After all, since you were the one who killed Cao Fushan, I’m worried that if there are comrades of the bandit army in the city, they might see you as a threat and act against you..." Lv Gang said seriously, explaining his intention.
He wanted Song Changming to keep this matter in mind; regardless of whether there were other comrades of the bandit army, caution was the best course of action.
After all, the Tengya Mountain Bandit Army was a source of great concern to the entire Governor’s Mansion.
One can’t be too careful.
...