White-Robed Chief

“You have to cripple your cultivation of the technique after cultivating it? Then, you’re just wasting your efforts!” Elder Ren muttered.

Sun Yucheng shook his head and replied, “It’s not that simple. It is said that the Dragon Taming Technique can make one’s body far stronger than that of normal people, so even if you cripple your cultivation after cultivating the Dragon Taming Technique, your body won’t go back to its original state. You’ll still derive endless benefits from the technique.”

“You might as well cultivate a torso tuning technique,” Elder Ren said.

Sun Yucheng replied, “Torso tuning techniques may lead to side effects, but the Dragon Taming Technique is different.”

“I see…” Elder Ren nodded. “Well then, I suppose that makes it worth cultivating.”

Elder Su laughed and said, “No matter how beneficial it is, we won’t get the chance to go there anyway.”

Sun Yucheng nodded. “Indeed, most people can never get the chance to join them. It’s only because Brother Zhao asked about this that I told you guys about it. This can be considered a secret of the imperial family.”

“If anyone claimed this spot by force, will they be allowed to enter the mountain?” Elder Su asked.

Sun Yucheng replied, “As long as you have the Goddess Attraction Badge, you’ll be able to enter Goddess Attraction Mountain regardless of your identity!”

“Won’t that be very dangerous?” Elder Su frowned.

Sun Yucheng chuckled and replied, “This is usually kept a secret, so no outsiders will find out about it.”

“Nonetheless, the princes know about this, don’t they?” Elder Su asked.

Sun Yucheng slowly nodded.

“Prince Cheng, if it’s your turn to go, the other prince can try to snatch the badge away from you, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Indeed, it’s very dangerous!” Elder Ren frowned.

Sun Yucheng laughed and said, “Normally, no one would fight over this. Honestly speaking, it’s not that great of a thing to go to Goddess Attraction Mountain either. You can only be there for one year, and you’ll have to work and be put through a lot of trouble. For my brothers who are already holding positions in the imperial court, this will only result in delays in their work, so some of them might even decline the opportunity to go.”

Elder Su and Elder Ren shook their heads and sighed.

This was such a rare opportunity, yet they did not want to go. Meanwhile, there were many others out there who could not go even if they wanted to. Life was simply too unfair.

Sun Yucheng went on saying, “Nonetheless, even if a prince declined the opportunity to go, he would usually let another prince go in his place instead of an outsider.”

Chu Li asked, “Is that to maintain secrecy about this?”

“It’s just a rule that’s commonly followed,” Sun Yucheng replied.

Elder Su and Elder Ren shook their heads again.

Chu Li had a thoughtful look on his face but he said nothing more.

He had already read Sun Yucheng’s mind and found out that the Goddess Attraction Badge was coincidentally going to be issued this year. Furthermore, it just so happened that it was the sixth prince’s turn to go this time. Thus, Sun Yucheng had an ulterior motive in mind. It was not out of gratitude that he had told Chu Li about these Imperial Household secrets.

Sun Yucheng could see that Chu Li desired to go to Goddess Attraction Mountain, so he was purposely trying to get Chu Li to launch an attack on the sixth prince. Even if this might not result in the sixth prince’s death, Sun Yucheng would still be able to use Chu Li to weaken the sixth prince’s capabilities.

Chu Li shook his head and sighed to himself. None of these princes were easy people to deal with.

When Sun Yucheng glanced at Chu Li and noticed that he had stopped asking questions, Sun Yucheng decided not to push the topic further. He simply smiled. “There are always people trying to steal the Goddess Attraction Badge every year, but unfortunately, none of them have succeeded so far.”

“The Goddess Attraction Badge isn’t that important after all,” Elder Su said while he chuckled. “So what if one manages to get the Goddess Attraction Badge and cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique? Who would dare to go and explore the Hundred-Thousand Hills in this day and age anyway? Now, that would be a crazy person.”

“A hundred years ago, there were two people who dared to do so. However, over the past hundred years, no one had dared to go there anymore,” Elder Ren muttered and shook his head. “Everyone knows that they have no hope of surviving there, so they won’t send themselves on a suicide mission.”

As this was kind of a heavy topic, the two elders stopped the discussion.

Chu Li suddenly frowned and turned his gaze westward before he said, “Since the three of you have come all the way here, why would you hide yourselves and sneak around like that?”

“Clap! Clap!” A handsome young man appeared soundlessly on top of a tree while he clapped.

Under the pale moonlight, he looked charming and elegant in his green tunic, with his eyes shining brighter than all the stars in the night sky. The young man clapped and sighed in admiration as he said, “As expected, you’re indeed a formidable figure. No wonder you have managed to kill all those centenarian masters!”

Chu Li knitted his brows together and asked, “Who are you?”

This handsome young man had an exceptionally profound and deep cultivation level that was almost on par with Chu Li.

The young man smiled faintly and replied, “Liang Yinge.”

“Liang Yinge…” Chu Li frowned and fell silent while he turned his head to look at Elder Su, Elder Ren, and Sun Yucheng.

Chu Li had actually heard of Liang Yinge’s famous name before.

However, Elder Su and Elder Ren had grim expressions on their faces. Here was another young fellow with a cultivation level that was far more superior than theirs!

Elder Su huffed and asked, “Could it be that you’re the pavilion master of Mysterious Pavilion, Liang Yinge?”

“Indeed, I’m the pavilion master of Mysterious Pavilion!” Liang Yinge smiled and nodded as he gave a fist salute. He then said, “I apologize for frightening the four of you!”

“Rumor has it that the pavilion master of Mysterious Pavilion is young, but I have never expected you to be so young!” Elder Su replied with a frown and then scoffed. “Pavilion Master Liang, you have always been secretive with your movements and whereabouts. Seeing as we’ve managed to run into Pavilion Master Liang today, our trip to the Zheng Dynasty has truly been worth it!”

Chu Li muttered, “We’re in the Fu Dynasty now. Pavilion Master Liang, you’re very bold. Aren’t you afraid that the Fu Dynasty might destroy Mysterious Pavilion if you offend them?”

“This problem can be solved very easily,” Liang Yinge replied. “After killing the four of you, I can just pass the blame to the Fu Dynasty. Thus, I’ll be free of all trouble. You don’t have to worry about me. Mysterious Pavilion won’t be implicated in this matter.”

He spoke in a casual tone that seemed to imply that everything was under his control. Moreover, there appeared to be a hint of scorn and sarcasm in his tone as well.

“You sound rather arrogant!” Elder Ren said with a scoff. “You think you’re capable of killing us on your own?”

“I’m not that arrogant and reckless. That’s why I’ve brought along two more martial arts masters,” Liang Yinge replied with a grin.

Two grey-robed elderly men gradually appeared on either side of Liang Yinge and glared coldly at the four of them.

These two elderly men had grey hair with white ends and dark roots while their complexions were rosy and smooth like that of a baby. It seemed as though they were recovering their youthful vigor. Both elderly men had three hundred years’ worth of cultivation and naturally emitted a gigantic and threatening aura as they stood beside Liang Yinge.

Elder Su and Elder Ren became visibly nervous as they looked at Sun Yucheng with a frown before they turning their gaze to Chu Li. “Young Zhao, we’ll hold them off. You should get Young Master out of here first!”

Chu Li shook his head. “We won’t be able to get away!”

The four of them had instantly fallen into a disadvantageous position after this dramatic turn of events.

After carefully evaluating the situation, Chu Li figured that Liang Yinge would be able to deal with Elder Su and Elder Ren on his own without much effort. If Liang Yinge decided to fight with Chu Li instead, it would not be a difficult task for the two elderly men to kill Elder Su and Elder Ren either.

Chu Li turned to Sun Yucheng. “Young Master, we’ll have to perish together with them!”

“Is there no way for us to escape?” Sun Yucheng asked.

Chu Li replied, “I’m afraid it’s almost impossible for us to get out of this situation alive. However, we can avenge our own deaths by getting help from the Fu Dynasty to kill these people.”

Sun Yucheng frowned as be paused to think.

Liang Yinge chuckled and said, “Brother, you’re quite naive and innocent.”

Chu Li paid no attention to him. All he did was kept his eyes on Sun Yucheng.

Sun Yucheng looked at Elder Su and Elder Ren before he turned back to Chu Li and muttered, “Alright then. If we really have to die, we’ll drag them down with us!”

A smile appeared on Chu Li face as he vanished abruptly and went deeper into the forest. He then raised his voice. “Liang Yinge is here! Liang Yinge from the Zheng Dynasty’s Mysterious Pavilion is here…!”

Chu Li’s voice resounded through the entire night sky like booming thunder, and everyone within a few miles’ radius could hear him.

At once, Liang Yinge’s expression changed and he immediately charged toward Sun Yucheng.

This move from Chu Li had instantly disrupted the momentum of Liang Yinge’s plan. Hence, Liang Yinge was forced to take action right away — he had to kill the four of them within the shortest amount of time.

Elder Su and Elder Ren positioned themselves in front of Sun Yucheng and thrust their palms forward at Liang Yinge.

“Get lost!” Liang Yinge shouted and launched his palms at Elder Su and Elder Ren.

“Bang! Bang!” The two elders were sent flying away.

Liang Yinge’s palm energy came at them again while the elders were spitting out mouthfuls of blood in mid-air. Before they could perform their secret skills, his strange palm energy collided into the elders and surged around violently in their vital organs, which had caused them to each spit out another mouthful of blood.

Chu Li’s shouts echoed endlessly through the forest and it seemed to overlap with one another. “Liang Yinge from the Zheng Dynasty’s Mysterious Pavilion is here… Liang Yinge from the Zheng Dynasty’s Mysterious Pavilion is here…”

Liang Yinge launched a punch at Sun Yucheng.

However, Sun Yucheng had escaped to a hundred meters away while he moved his body in a peculiar and swift manner to avoid this punch. The technique he had just used to save his own life was an antique study of the Li Dynasty’s imperial family.