Chapter 52: The Prosperous Escort Agency (Revised)

Ling Chi, who had not slept a wink all night, was sitting in meditation, adjusting his breath. Wisps of spiritual energy flickered around him, tiny arcs of electricity burrowing into his body and finally converging in a sea of thunder within.

“Sir, breakfast is ready.”

The voice of a young boy drifted over. Ling Chi slowly opened his eyes, a flash of violet-gold lightning passing through them.

He leapt down from the rooftop. Despite not having slept, he was still full of vigor and vitality.

“Why doesn’t he sleep a little longer? He was busy until so late last night.”

The boy was so excited to practice martial arts with Ling Chi that he could barely sleep through the night.

“I woke up at daybreak. Sir, did you not sleep at all last night?” Hei Wa asked as they walked.

“I gained some insight while practicing swordplay yesterday. Before I knew it, dawn had come, so I simply didn’t sleep,” Ling Chi replied carelessly. For a martial artist, sleep was never a daily necessity.

The servant woman had prepared a lavish breakfast—at least by the standards of ordinary families. To meet a warrior’s daily needs required ample nutrition to sustain them.

Ling Chi filled a bowl with meat porridge. The two of them sat down and ate at a leisurely pace.

After a while, Ling Chi led several youngsters to the training grounds.

The newly refurbished training ground was perfectly level, and the weapon rack held every blade and implement that Pei Shinan had managed to collect. There were no decorative or intimidating pieces—only deadly weapons meant for real combat.

The children stood in a line, faces taut with tension. Their parents had told them that opportunities to defy fate and seize destiny did not come to everyone; they must be obedient and diligent.

They did not understand what it meant to defy fate, but becoming the strongest among their friends was reason enough for them to persevere.

“Draw your chest in, don’t stick it out. Keep your shoulder blades slightly tensed.

“Relax the shoulder joints, let the elbows hang down.

“Keep your head upright, no tilting or shrinking. Use your waist to gather force and lift upward.

“Let your breath sink into the lower abdomen; grip the ground with all ten toes.

“Remember the mnemonic for stance training—this is the foundation of the Two Aspects Stance, and the key to whether you can become strong in the future.”

These children were barely literate, so Ling Chi patiently explained each instruction, pointing to their bodies to show the correct positions.

“Have you remembered? Inhale deeply, letting the breath sink straight to your lower abdomen—here.” Ling Chi’s finger traced from the boy’s throat to three inches below the navel, to the location of the dantian, the sea of qi.

He led them through the practice over and over until they finally grasped it. Ling Chi deliberately broke a stick of incense into four segments, having them stand for one segment at a time before pausing to stretch.

He held a small stick in his hand, adjusting their postures as he went. If they made a mistake, he would give a light smack, making Hei Wa and the others grimace in pain.

Meanwhile, he himself began standing in the Tai Chi Full-Circle Stance.

This stance focused on uprightness and balance, relaxation and natural extension, a unity of curves and circles.

The Tai Chi Full-Circle Stance emphasized: “With reverence, the spirit does not scatter; with caution, as if facing a deep abyss. Borrow boundless intent, let essence fill the body. Seek substance in the void, and maintain harmony and balance.”

When standing, one’s head is straight, eyes forward, breathing calm and steady, body upright. Shoulders are relaxed, elbows horizontal, armpits empty, arms rounded.

The chest and abdomen are relaxed, waist and back straight, diaphragm loose, chest hollow, back rounded. Knees are pushed forward, hips as if sitting on a high stool, toes gripping the ground, soles slightly arched.

Hei Wa and the others practiced diligently. It was easy to get hot while standing, and with the layers of clothing for early winter, beads of sweat soon formed on their foreheads.

From time to time, they cast envious glances at Ling Chi, whose unwavering composure seemed unbreakable.

A few days later, Cao Bianjiao arrived.

Entering the training ground, he saw three children of six or seven standing in the Two Aspects Stance and could only shake his head in disbelief.

“Bianjiao, how many days have you been practicing? How do you feel?” Ling Chi asked.

“My body feels nothing special, but my mind is much more settled,” Cao replied.

“Start from stance training, then go through each of the six basic postures for me. Hei Wa, you all stop and come watch how your senior practices.” Ling Chi beckoned them over.

Cao Bianjiao had a solid foundation and steady stance, passing through the postures in one go, but began making small mistakes as he moved through the six forms.

By the time he realized, Ling Chi’s stick was already tapping corrections to his posture, again and again.

Hei Wa watched with relish until Ling Chi waved him back to resume his stance training.

Cao Bianjiao brought a manual called “Thunder Flash,” a lightning-speed cultivation technique. Ling Chi’s plan was simple: to use it for traversing battlefields or traveling, as speed was currently his main weakness.

The manual itself was concise—by using a special treasure to gather thunder around oneself and triggering it in a unique way, one could move at extraordinary speed. In theory, mastery of the technique would allow one to travel a thousand miles in a single instant.

Given that the farthest two points in the northwest province of the Divine Dynasty were only about two thousand miles apart, this prospect greatly appealed to Ling Chi, who immediately began practicing.

He did not need to rely on any external treasure, as he already possessed a sea of thunder within his body, not to mention the mysterious Thunder Pearl. Sometimes he wondered if the Thunder Pearl had altered his physique to align with the element of lightning.

Perhaps it was also due to the Extreme Yang Spring Thunder Breathing Method; during body refinement, he had discovered he could absorb free ions from the air to temper his body and even store them within himself.

Thus, cultivating thunder techniques was twice as effective for him.

After studying the manual several times, Ling Chi began to form his own ideas.

He never believed that cultivation manuals were immutable—the best technique was one suited to oneself.

The first step in modifying a technique was to thoroughly understand its original logic. This was no simple task, but with Ling Chi’s extraordinary perception and aptitude, it took him only an afternoon to progress from understanding to mastery.

He then began his modifications—imagination and operability were both essential. This path was not one that could be completed in a day, but perhaps sudden inspiration would allow him to succeed in a single leap.

“I wonder if shield techniques exist in this world?” Ling Chi sighed quietly. This was the thing he longed for most.

Day by day, Ling Chi continued to devote himself to cultivating the Indestructible Yang Lightning Body and Thunder Flash techniques. For now, he had only scratched the surface; even reaching minor accomplishment was still a distant goal.

Hei Wa and the others were also making progress with their stance training, able to stand through two segments of incense (about an hour) at a time. Their bodies had grown much tougher.

Time passed unnoticed in the rhythm of cultivation, and soon it was late November.

On the twenty-third day, outside the town of Qianshan in Crane County.

Not far from the town, a caravan from a security escort agency was slowly making its way down the official road.

Several wagons, their beds exposed, carried long, rectangular objects wrapped completely in black cloth and tightly bound with ropes as thick as eggs.

Each cart was drawn by two strong draft horses. From the deep ruts and the labored breathing of the horses, it was clear the cargo was heavy.

A red banner bearing the name Fengli Escort Agency flew from the wagons, and the accompanying personnel were all seasoned fighters of the Open Meridian Realm.

“Stay sharp, brothers! No mistakes! Wang Huai, ride ahead and see how far we are from Qianshan Town,” called a sturdy man with a sallow face, an aura of the Sea of Qi Realm faintly emanating from him.

“Yes, Chief Chu!” Wang Huai replied and galloped off.

Chief Chu scanned their surroundings. The winter days were short and, today, clouds covered the sky. Though it was only just past the hour of the rooster, dusk was already falling. The woods beside the road were dark and deep, like a lurking beast waiting to pounce.

Suddenly, a raindrop struck Chief Chu’s face. At some point, the sky had gathered a heavy rain.

“Quick, cover the cargo with oilcloth! These things must not get wet,” Chief Chu ordered urgently, his expression changing at once.