Chapter 3, The Double Yin Scholar

With this concern in mind, Lu Hao did not dare to act rashly and instead turned to repeatedly showing goodwill towards Chen Qi

Lu Hao smiled lightly and suddenly said: "In this village, you are the only clever one. Although Chen Qi, you are still young, you will surely have a boundless future ahead. I brought you out this time not for any big business, but because I have an important matter that I want to discuss with someone. After thinking it over, I realized that only you can help me plan this."

For several consecutive days, the stronghold had no business, so Chen Qi devoted himself to practicing martial arts, honing his Iron Bone skill, which suddenly saw a breakthrough. The third level is a watershed for the Iron Bone skill; once this level is surpassed, Chen Qi gradually became thinner and his agility improved compared to before. Although most of the leaders of Tianma Mountain are rough individuals, there are still some who are meticulous.

Chen Qi exclaimed in astonishment: "The second chief is joking. How can someone as young as Chen Qi discuss any significant matters with you?"

After Chen Qi refined his true energy, he felt light and agile. Having suffered a minor setback and fainted once, he dared not experiment further with the methods of the "He Mountain Classic". Instead, he decided to practice the Iron Bone Technique taught by the Grand Master. This attempt left Chen Qi greatly astonished

The seventh master of Tianma Mountain's Dazhai, employing the Iron Bone technique, felt a slight cracking sound emanating from his entire skeletal structure. His somewhat frail body was now bulging with muscles, strength surging within him. With a casual punch, he struck out, producing a resounding thud, achieving a level of proficiency in the Iron Bone technique that was originally deemed extremely difficult. Suddenly, he accomplished it with ease. This indicated that Chen Qi's strength had at least increased by thirty percent, and without realizing it, he had reached the third level of mastery in the Iron Bone technique. Chen Qi was so delighted that he scratched his head in confusion, unsure of how to celebrate.

This pool of "golden liquid" surged onto Chen Qi's arm, first dyeing his arm a golden hue like that in illustrations, gradually spreading along his arm. Before long, it reached his neck, face, ankles... All the skin exposed beyond his clothing transformed into a brilliant gold, making Chen Qi appear as if he were a person cast in gold.

Chen Qi awoke, stretched his limbs, and suddenly discovered that the warm energy in his dantian seemed to have grown stronger. He couldn't help but feel overjoyed, secretly thinking: "It seems that my fortunes are indeed turning; I am not destined to be a petty thief for life. Once I master my skills, I will become a notorious bandit, specifically targeting wealthy households. Not only will I steal their gold and silver, but I will also not spare their daughters... But where have my three pages of golden script and black cloth pouch gone?"

Despite Lu Haozhi's self-assured cunning, he could never have imagined that Chen Qi had unexpectedly encountered the legendary fortune, yet his thoughts turned towards the Great Leader, Black Whirlwind. Fortunately, Chen Qi was somewhat sly; he only revealed the skills of the Iron Bone Technique and did not disclose any of the methods from the He Mountain Scripture. Thus, Lu Haozhi speculated that "the Great Leader is secretly cultivating strength and has privately taught Chen Qi, this true disciple..." and followed this line of reasoning.

Lu Haozhi brought Chen Qi out, originally having several schemes in mind. At this moment, seeing that Chen Qi's martial arts were unexpectedly higher than anticipated, and not knowing whether the chief had taught Chen Qi other skills, he felt that the chances of taking lethal action were slim, so he changed his mind. He smiled before speaking, saying: "Chen Qi, your Iron Bone Fist technique has already reached about sixty to seventy percent of the chief's level. Perhaps in a few days, he will promote you to the sixth chief, and the fifth chief is not out of the question either"

Although Lu Haozhi is a martial man, he possesses a somewhat refined appearance, given his nickname "Double Yin Scholar." He is dressed in a long gown, concealing his usual short sword within a bamboo staff, masquerading as a down-and-out scholar. Chen Qi also donned a set of old clothes, pretending to be his attendant, carrying a burden and haphazardly arranging some luggage to avoid drawing attention. Fearing that any flaws might be exposed, he did not bring along the steel knife he usually carries.

Chen Qi searched all around but could not find it. At this moment, the golden hue on his skin had already faded. Chen Qi could not fathom that the three pages of golden script had merged into his body. He could only scratch his head and ponder, "Could it be that someone stole it while I was asleep? This is truly the irony of being a thief all day, only to be stolen from by a thief now"

There are a total of seven chieftains on Tianma Mountain. According to the customs of the stronghold, whenever one dies, another is promoted to fill the vacancy. Therefore, the number of chieftains in the Tianma Mountain stronghold remains unchanged, but in reality, only the first three chieftains hold true power. The others are merely in positions slightly better than ordinary sub-leaders and cannot truly be considered the masters of the Tianma Mountain stronghold

Chen Qi, together with Lu Haozhi, did not practice the techniques from the three pages of the golden book. After having some dry rations, he began to practice the Iron Bone Skill he learned from the chief of the Dazhai. Having obtained the three pages of the golden book, he had cultivated true energy, and when he practiced the Iron Bone Skill, he achieved twice the result with half the effort. The Iron Bone Skill is an external martial art that does not require sitting in meditation to cultivate energy. During practice, there is a set of boxing techniques; with prolonged practice, it can invigorate the muscles and bones, producing various miraculous effects. Ultimately, by refining true energy from the outside in, one can be considered to have entered the realm of top experts in the martial world. The Iron Bone Skill is an external martial art that does not require sitting in meditation to cultivate energy. During practice, there is a set of boxing techniques; with prolonged practice, it can invigorate the muscles and bones, producing various miraculous effects. Ultimately, by refining true energy from the outside in, one can be considered to have entered the realm of top experts in the martial world

Chen Qi pondered: "The Great Leader has said that the Iron Bone Skill reaches true mastery only at the third level, which brings about a transformation akin to shedding one's old skin. From then on, one's strength will increase day by day, continuously growing. It seems that the formulas on those three pages of golden scripture are indeed extraordinary methods. Unfortunately, I lost them, but fortunately, I have memorized them all. In the future, I can study them in detail."

Lu Haozhi brought Chen Qi and set out early in the morning. By nightfall, they had traveled over a hundred miles. The two did not seek shelter with anyone but instead made a fire in the wilderness, prepared some food, and rested.

Chen Qi practiced several times, his fists cutting through the air with great force. Lu Haozhi felt a bit alarmed and thought to himself: "It seems that Chen Qi's Iron Bone skill has improved again, much more than what I observed a few days ago. Given his current level of skill, even if I were to plot against him, I might not have complete confidence. I should consider a different strategy."

Chen Qi suddenly made remarkable progress in martial arts. The dual Yin scholar Lu Haozhi initially felt anxious and wanted to win over Chen Xuanji to undertake certain actions, lest the strength of the Tianma Mountain be dominated solely by the lineage of the Great Chief. The two "master and disciple" were united in purpose, leaving them with the prospect of being relegated to the roles of second or third place, or even, after a few years, becoming the third or fourth.

The chief of the bandit stronghold, Black Whirlwind, possesses an iron-clad physique, impervious to blades and bullets, with immense strength and unparalleled martial skills, making him the foremost in the stronghold. The second chief, the dual-yin scholar Lu Haozhi, hails from the Yin Mountain Sect and wields the Seven Steps of Yin Wind Palm, which is both cunning and lethal. Within seven steps of his opponent, he can infuse his yin energy into their body; without exceptionally advanced internal skills to counter it, death is inevitable within a few days. The third chief, Chen Xuanji, is a discarded disciple of a prestigious sect, yet he never speaks of his past. He masters the Four-Edged Copper Staff Technique, which is also quite formidable, and he is a fierce general leading the charge at the main stronghold of Tianma Mountain.

Chen Qicai had cultivated his true energy, and after a brief demonstration of the Five Yin Bag, he felt a slight depletion of his true energy. He quickly gathered his true energy and practiced the Supreme Transformation Dragon Technique once more, gradually nurturing the true energy within his body. This time, however, the cultivation seemed to proceed much more smoothly than before, equivalent to the effort of three to five days of work. Both Chen Qi and the library did not think much of it, believing that since he had successfully cultivated true energy, everything was different from before.

He slightly circulated his vital energy to control the Five Yin Bag, but felt it was quite sluggish and difficult to manipulate freely. He attributed this to his own lack of proficiency in the initial stages of practice and did not pay much attention to it

Lu Haozhi, a cunning scholar from the Double Yin, originally possessed some insidious traits. He also held the position of strategist for the Dazhai of Tianma Mountain, making his thoughts more meticulous than others. When he discovered that Chen Qi had received the true transmission of the Iron Bone Skill from the Dazhai Master, within just a few months, his martial arts had already caught up with the other nominal leaders. He could not help but ponder countless times over the reasons behind this.

Chen Qi grew up in the Dazhai of Tianma Mountain and has never really left the area within a few hundred miles of Tianma Mountain; the farthest he has been is to a county town near Tianma Mountain

However, Chen Qi himself does not feel this; he continues to sleep very soundly

Without further ado, the martial skills of the Black Whirlwind, the leader of the stronghold, are indeed unparalleled in the Tianma Mountain stronghold. Although Lu Haozhi had once contemplated seizing this stronghold to showcase his own abilities, after several covert attempts, he realized that his martial arts were indeed somewhat inferior to those of the Black Whirlwind. Moreover, having been a notorious bandit for so long, the Black Whirlwind is both rough and meticulous, secretly guarding against potential rebellions from his subordinates. Lu Haozhi, the scholar of dual shadows, understood this well and feared that any rash actions might alert the enemy, which ultimately compelled him to suppress his ambitions and remain in the Tianma Mountain stronghold.

Chen Qi also knew that he could see the items within the Five Yin Bag, while others could not. The space inside this object was about the size of a room, with hundreds of items floating within it. In the center of the Five Yin Bag, there was a black light circle, pulsating and constantly changing. Chen Qi had long memorized the "He Mountain Classic" thoroughly and understood that this black light circle was the source of magical power and knowledge within the Five Yin Bag

Chen Qi searched around and suddenly raised his hand, only to find a circle of black lines on his wrist. It was then that he remembered the matter of refining the Five Yin Bag. He tentatively channeled his true energy and directed it towards his wrist, and at once it seemed as if a cave opened before him, revealing many items inside. He couldn't help but exclaim in delight: "Indeed, I was not mistaken; this object is truly a treasure used by cultivators."

Just as Chen Qi fell into a deep sleep, the three pages of golden scripture he had tucked within the He Mountain Classic began to stir gently with each of his breaths, eventually transforming into a pool of golden liquid.

Although he had lost those three pages of the golden book, since he could not find them, Chen Qi did not wish to dwell on it any longer. He simply contemplated how much benefit this newly cultivated true energy could bring him

Not long after Chen Qi mastered the third level of the Iron Bone Skill, Lu Haozhi found an excuse, claiming he needed to descend the mountain to investigate the details of a major business deal. He insisted on having Chen Qi accompany him. Chen Qi, having made significant progress in his martial arts, was eager for an opportunity to showcase his skills and did not think of anything else, so he followed Lu Haozhi, leaving the main camp of Tianma Mountain.

However, after much contemplation, Lu Haozhi still dared not reveal his thoughts in front of Chen Xuanji. He always found it hard to trust others and feared that if Chen Xuanji learned of his innermost feelings, he might report him, leading to a fate of being torn apart by the Grand Leader, suffering a gruesome end.

Chen Qi is also a person of keen insight. Upon hearing the implied meaning in the words of the second stronghold leader, he smiled and said: "Second stronghold leader, you jest. Our main stronghold has never had such a precedent. Moreover, what difference does it make to me, as the seventh stronghold leader, whether I become the fifth or sixth stronghold leader? It is all the same joy."

Chen Qi's martial arts suddenly advanced significantly, yet others were still unaware of any irregularities. However, Lu Haozhi, the second chief of Tianma Mountain, noticed it first.