Chapter 200 28: Sword Gang
"Ruo'er is the thoughtful one, as always. The rest of you should learn from her. Think more when faced with a problem, and stop spending all your days chasing women."
Bai Jingxing's last two sentences were aimed at his two sons. Seeing their sullen expressions, he snorted in annoyance.
Many families in Qing State Prefecture are affiliated with the Lin Family. The Bai Family, for example, is one of them, their connection established when his sister married a Lin clansman.
This time, the Lin Family had summoned a group of branch disciples to return. Ordinary branch family members wouldn't be worth their notice, but those who had reached the Blood Exchange Realm held a status equal to that of the main family members. This was a matter that demanded their attention.
Families like theirs, affiliated with the Lin Family, all depended on the Lins for their livelihoods. Take the Bai Family, for instance. They managed the Ten-Mile Lake Fishery and had to turn over seventy percent of the annual catch to the Lin Family. The remaining thirty percent was theirs to keep, but even that was enough for the Bai Family to cultivate several Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists.
The Lin Family would send a Blood Exchange Realm powerhouse every one or two years to preside over the area. Ostensibly, it was to guard the fishery, but in reality, it was for surveillance.
He hadn't thought much of it at first, but when he heard that the other major families were all trying to build connections with these new Blood Exchange Realm powerhouses from the branches, he could no longer sit still.
If everyone held back, then it would be fine.
But if one family made a move and the others didn't, it would make them look petty and risk offending the newcomers.
These Blood Exchange Realm Martial Artists who had clawed their way up from the branch families might not remember who sent them gifts, but they would absolutely remember who didn't.
If one of them happened to be assigned to guard the fishery and decided to deliberately target the Bai Family, life would become very difficult for them.
However, unlike the other families who were merely sending gifts, Bai Jingxing had a more ambitious idea. 'Since we're giving a gift anyway,' he thought, 'why not seize this opportunity to form a real connection with one of them?'
The Blood Exchange Realm powerhouses from the Lin main family might look down on them. But these few from the branches lacked deep foundations. If the Bai Family was willing to part with some Martial Arts Resources now and lend a helping hand, then should one of them truly rise in the future—never mind reaching the True Gang Realm, even just reaching the Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation—the Bai Family would have made a huge gain.
"Ruo'er, I'm entrusting this matter to you. If you need to spend money, just withdraw it from the accounts office."
With a confident look, Bai Ruo replied, "Don't worry, Father. I will be sure to handle this matter perfectly."
...
...
The Lin Family.
After moving, his new house was a full three times larger than his old one in the Disciple's Quarters. The small, single courtyard had become a two-courtyard residence.
Lin Yan gave the place a quick tour, put away his clothes, and then carried two Cultivation Manuals out to the rear courtyard.
The *Four-Phase Condensing Gang Sword* could wait. Lin Yan first began to carefully study the *Eight Desolates Dragon Elephant Force*.
The *Eight Desolates Dragon Elephant Force* worked by continuously refining one's Qi Blood. Manifesting a Dragon Elephant Blood Shadow signified that one had reached the initial stage of mastery.
After memorizing the Cultivation Technique Mantra, Lin Yan stripped off his shirt and walked to the center of the courtyard. He spread his legs wide, planting his feet on the ground as if he were an old tree taking root.
Then, he began to adjust his breathing according to the Dragon Elephant Force. The mass of pure, refined Qi Blood within him was slowly mobilized, starting from his Dantian and pushing outward along the first of the Eight Meridians.
Wherever the Qi Blood passed, a faint crimson trail could be seen slowly spreading beneath his skin.
The main difficulty in the initial cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Force was having insufficient Qi Blood, but for Lin Yan, this was not an issue.
As his Qi Blood circulated, he felt his body being slowly stretched from the inside out.
From his shoulder blades to his elbows, and then down to his wrists, the fascia of his entire arm felt as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand and slowly stretched.
It was an exceedingly strange sensation, as if countless fine strings were tied within his body, now being plucked and tightened one by one.
First his hands, then his feet... and finally, every part of his body.
'Dragon Elephant Force, Eight Meridian Passage, One Turn, One Layer of Heaven.'
Lin Yan silently recited the Mantra, his mind sinking inward.
He could clearly perceive his fascia being saturated and stretched by his Qi Blood, inch by inch.
The process was not fast, but it was exceptionally thorough. Every fraction it expanded was accompanied by a faint, tingling numbness from deep within his bones and sinews.
An unknown amount of time passed before a blood-red, ethereal shadow appeared above Lin Yan's head.
The moment the blood-red shadow appeared, Lin Yan's eyes snapped open and he unleashed a punch.
The power of this punch was thirty percent stronger than the one he had thrown in the stone chamber.
Lin Yan withdrew his fist and performed a Martial Arts Tree Introspection. A new sprout had appeared.
'Dragon Elephant Force, initial mastery!'
'I only broke through after reaching the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing Qi Blood Perfection, so my compatibility with the Eight Desolates Dragon Elephant Force is extremely high. It would have been a real surprise if I'd still needed the Martial Arts Tree's guarantee just to get started.'
Feeling the distinct new power flowing with his Qi Blood, Lin Yan couldn't help but smile.
'In Martial Arts, choosing a compatible Cultivation Technique really does make all the difference.'
Half an hour later, Lin Yan stopped. He walked to the stone table and picked up the *Four-Phase Condensing Gang Sword* manual.
The core of the *Four-Phase Condensing Gang Sword* was a single concept: fusion. It involved fusing one's Sword Intent into their Blood Gang, transforming the purely defensive Blood Gang into an all-penetrating Sword Gang.
However, this fusion of Sword Intent was not limitless. A martial artist at the Blood Exchange First Transformation could create a maximum of three strands of Sword Gang.
It was like mixing two substances: the Blood Gang was the solvent and the Sword Intent was the solute. There was a specific ratio for complete absorption.
It was only after reading the *Four-Phase Condensing Gang Sword* manual that Lin Yan learned that any Cultivation Technique cultivated to the level of a Mental Realm would leave an imprint within the body, one that was normally imperceptible.
In the Sword Dao, the place where Sword Intent was stored was called a Sword Pill.
The Sword Pill was invisible, but it was real.
Calming his mind and concentrating his spirit, Lin Yan began to circulate the Mantra for the *Four-Phase Condensing Gang Sword*. He soon sensed the Sword Intent within his body.
His task now was to peel a wisp of Silk Binding Sword Intent from his Sword Pill, guide it into his Dantian, and merge it with his Blood Gang.
The process was extremely perilous. The slightest mistake could cause the Sword Intent to run rampant in his meridians, resulting in a severe backlash.
Lin Yan carefully peeled a wisp of Silk Binding Sword Intent from his Sword Pill and guided it slowly downward along his meridians.
Wherever the Sword Intent passed, a faint, needle-like pain pricked the inner walls of his meridians. Fortunately, his meridians had been tempered by both the Thunder Sound Technique and the Dragon Elephant Force, making them far tougher than those of an ordinary Blood Exchange Realm Martial Artist. This level of pain was nothing to him.
When the wisp of Sword Intent finally sank into his Dantian and collided with his Blood Gang, a deep, muffled thud echoed from within. Lin Yan let out a strangled grunt, his face instantly turning pale.
'Damn, that hurts!'
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Lin Yan continued to operate the Cultivation Technique Mantra, forcibly kneading the Sword Intent and Blood Gang together.
The agony was like someone taking a sword and repeatedly gouging it into his Dantian.
'As expected, Sword Cultivators are cursed with short lives. Even our cultivation is a form of self-mutilation.'
Lin Yan could only resort to gallows humor to distract himself from the pain, continuing until he became completely numb to it.
An unknown amount of time passed. Within the roiling mass of Blood Gang in his Dantian, a minuscule change suddenly occurred. A sliver of silvery-white light, so faint it was almost invisible, was slowly taking shape.
A moment later, Lin Yan slowly raised his right hand. A fine, silvery-white strand of Gang appeared at his fingertip.
Although this silvery-white strand of Gang was as thin as a strand of hair, it radiated a terrifyingly sharp aura.
'This is Sword Gang!'
Lin Yan's eyes snapped open as his right hand swiped through the air.
The Sword Gang shot out. A pomegranate tree five zhang away suddenly shed a horizontal branch, which fell to the ground. The cut was as smooth as a mirror.
Lin Yan looked down at the Sword Gang on his finger, a brilliant light shining in his eyes.
All that suffering had been worth it. The power of the Sword Gang was truly extraordinary. And this was just a single strand. Once he had fused all of his Silk Binding Sword Intent into his Blood Gang, its power would see a terrifying increase.
Not to mention, he still had his second Sword Intent, the Flowing Cloud Sword Intent, which he had yet to refine. Once he succeeded, the increase in power wouldn't be a simple case of one plus one.
'Strike while the iron is hot!'
'Time to keep cultivating!'