My Martial Dao Has No Bottlenecks

Zhao Yuan and Li Mu grew anxious. "Senior Brother, are you getting rid of us?"

Liang Cheng smiled. "What are you thinking? You’ll be back after the Grand Tournament. Besides, your foundations are solid now, so it’s the perfect time to go back and redeem an Inner Cultivation Method."

"Right, give me your Identity Jade Tokens. I’ll transfer some Contribution Points to you."

Li Mu and Zhao Yuan were overcome with emotion, their eyes turning red. They didn’t know what to say. Liang Cheng laughed, "Stop fussing. Hurry up and take out your Jade Tokens."

After Liang Cheng transferred the Contribution Points, he said, "Do your best in this Grand Tournament. Don’t embarrass me. Oh, and Elder Huang is going back this time too. Look after him on the road."

"We will, Senior Brother. Don’t worry."

"We definitely won’t embarrass you in this Grand Tournament."

"Alright, focus on the competition and try to enter the Earth Dormitory. You’ve built up enough of a foundation. As long as you stay calm, there shouldn’t be any major problems."

"Go on, Elder Huang is waiting by the caravan."

"Huh?"

"So soon? If we leave, what about the defenses?"

"Don’t worry, we have people."

Just as he finished speaking, Lin Chong walked into the Guardian Station from outside.

"Greetings, Town Guardian."

Li Mu and Zhao Yuan were finally relieved. They greeted Lin Chong, bowed their farewells to Liang Cheng, and left with large strides.

Liang Cheng watched from a distance as Elder Huang grumbled and cursed, ordering Zhao Yuan and Li Mu to move his things. The elder was taking quite a lot with him this time.

’Otherwise, how could I have kept my Contribution Points to transfer to Zhao Yuan and Li Mu?’

He didn’t dare see them off personally, fearing Elder Huang would change his mind. The loss would have far outweighed the gain.

Watching the caravan depart, his expression turned serious. "Lin Chong, you said you had an urgent matter to report. What’s happened?"

"Town Guardian, more miners have gone missing."

"Hm? Come inside and talk."

...

Two days prior, three miners rotating off the night shift had vanished at a fork in the road on their way home. There were no footprints, no signs of a struggle, nothing.

The problem was only discovered today when they failed to show up for their shift.

’Has the Fire Worship Sect made a comeback?’

Liang Cheng’s face was grim. "Lin Chong, from now on, the Guardian Station and your Lin Family will form a joint defense force. You will command it and investigate this matter. How about it?"

Lin Chong nodded. Since Liang Cheng trusted him so much, and with Lin Yue currently badly injured, he had already decided to follow Liang Cheng and naturally wouldn’t refuse.

After that, Lin Chong patrolled day and night, but someone would still go missing every two or three days—sometimes one person, sometimes two or three.

And every time, the patrol team would arrive just a step too late, never once catching the perpetrators in the act.

’It seems we have a mole tipping them off.’

Liang Cheng connected the locations of the incidents on a map. ’The timing is too precise. This mole knows quite a lot.’

He drew up a fake patrol map, marking several empty shack districts in the east as key areas, and then "accidentally" let Chen Ping see it.

That night, Liang Cheng personally hid in the eastern shack districts. An entire night passed with nothing but cold dew and the chirping of insects.

He sneered inwardly. ’Either Chen Ping is patient enough to hold back, or this mole is hidden even deeper than I thought. For now, all I can do is focus on defense. There’s no other way.’

Under these circumstances, Wu Zhenshan suddenly arrived. The flag of the Martial Preparation Hall was planted right at the entrance of the Dongshan Mine.

Wu Zhenshan, leading fifty elite armored soldiers, walked into the Guardian Station with a broad smile. He clasped his fist in a salute. "Town Guardian Liang, the Martial Arts Academy reported signs of the Fire Worship Sect here at Dongshan Mine. By order of the Vice City Lord, I have come to assist in defending the area and exterminating the Cult. I await your orders, Town Guardian Liang."

At this, he added with a sigh of admiration, "I’ve heard that the Town Guardian slew a True Qi Realm Guardian of the Fire Worship Sect. So young and capable! I am truly impressed!"

Liang Cheng smiled and went to greet him. He had previously asked Elder Huang to report the signs of the Cult at Dongshan Mine to the Martial Arts Academy. He expected the Academy to inform the City Lord’s Mansion, but he never anticipated that Wu Zhenshan of the Martial Preparation Hall would come in person.

The two of them were all smiles, showing no hint of any friction between them. That night, a pale-faced Lin Yue made an appearance. Although his injuries had not yet healed, he forced himself to show up upon hearing of Wu Zhenshan’s arrival, so as not to seem impolite.

Wu Zhenshan clasped Lin Yue’s hand. "Brother Lin, you’ve suffered these past few years."

Lin Yue just smiled without saying a word. After a short while, he used the excuse of his unhealed injuries to return to his residence. As Liang Cheng saw him off, Lin Yue gave him a quiet warning.

"Be careful. This man’s arrival is very ill-timed."

Liang Cheng nodded slightly, saying nothing.

The next day, Liang Cheng accompanied Wu Zhenshan on an inspection of the mine. He casually remarked, "Treasurer Wu, your timing is perfect. Miners have been disappearing recently, and I’m a bit short-staffed. Could you help investigate?"

Wu Zhenshan stroked his beard, his expression grave. "The most important thing right now is to protect the miners and stabilize morale. My Martial Preparation Hall will naturally not shirk its duty."

For the next three days, the disappearances, which had been happening for half a month, suddenly stopped. It seemed the arrival of the Martial Preparation Hall had intimidated the villains lurking in the shadows.

The atmosphere at Dongshan Mine eased slightly, and the mining operations seemed to return to normal.

Just then, Li Mu and Zhao Yuan returned. They were now wearing the silver-edged white robes of the Earth Dormitory and had redeemed their Inner Cultivation Methods. When they saw Liang Cheng, their faces lit up with excitement.

"Senior Brother, we’re back!"

"Good. You didn’t disappoint me."

"Senior Brother, this is dried fish from your auntie. She’s doing well at the Martial Arts Academy and told us to tell you not to worry."

"That’s good."

"Also, Senior Brother Yun Jinghong has entered the Celestial Dormitory. He’s been in the Martial Refining Pool for the past few days. Master Lü and the others were saying the Martial Arts Academy was worried about a lack of successors, but now Qilin Children are appearing one after another. You set a great example."

At this, Zhao Yuan lowered his voice.

"The Masters told us to bring you a message. They said to do whatever you need to at Dongshan Mine without any reservations. The Martial Arts Academy stands behind you."

Liang Cheng nodded slightly.

Just then, Wu Zhenshan came striding over with his men.