I Can Strengthen Infinitely

On the seventh day of the ninth lunar month that year, the great armies of Jiangnan swept into Central Plains and arrived at Chang’an. By the new emperor’s decree, Chang’an was left utterly undefended, and the city gates were thrown wide for the army, so that the entire city fell under the control of this mysterious force.

The next day, the new emperor Li Chu appeared before the people and proclaimed by royal decree: Sanhuang was to be named ’King of Jiangnan’ and ’King Who Stands Shoulder to Shoulder’, praised for his unwavering loyalty; he would remain within Chang’an to assist Li Chu, help govern affairs of state, and stand united against the rebel forces threatening the realm.

With this, Sanhuang, once scorned as a rebel, was suddenly vested with the status of loyal subject, his reputation transformed—a truly dramatic turn.

Months passed, and among the original thirty-six rebel factions, those who were to be annexed had been annexed, those to be crushed by the Great Tang’s pacification armies had been utterly destroyed.

In the end, only four rebel armies remained. Without question, each of these four had powerful forces backing them in secret.

These rebel armies were:

The Bashu rebels, led by the King of the Vine Armor Army.

The Northern Desert rebels, Yellow Sands Ten Thousand Miles Army.

The Southern Border rebels, Western Barbarian Army.

The East Sea rebels, Dragon King Army.

From the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast, the four armies advanced to surround the Central Plains. Like wolves encircling a tiger, they closed in, slowly devouring their prey.

The armies of the Great Tang, beset by enemies on all sides, grew weary and overstretched, with signs of decline beginning to show.

For Sanhuang, stationed within Chang’an, the tense situation was cause for deep anxiety; day after day, he discussed military strategies with his counselors and generals, seeking a way to break the impasse.

Since the day Sanhuang entered Chang’an City, Qin Yuesheng had secluded himself in the depths of the imperial palace for closed-door cultivation, forbidding any to disturb him. Thus, Sanhuang was left to rely entirely on his own resources.

...

Beneath the King of the Vine Armor Army were the Bashu Vine Armor soldiers, who, ever since marching out from Bashu, had set the Central Plains ablaze with war; day by day, they consumed dozens of miles of Tang territory, and now nearly all the western realm was in their grasp.

The name of the King of the Vine Armor Army grew ever more renowned throughout the Central Plains.

On the western edge of the Central Plains stood one of the ten great sects, the famed Buddhist temple ’Dharma Temple’.

Dharma Temple had stood for more than three centuries. Though called a temple, the site had become a vast complex of palatial halls and a forest of pagodas, where incense always lingered and the ringing of bells drifted, sometimes mingled with the chanting of monks.

A man of uncommon height and great girth strode into the temple gates, clad in imperial dragon robes. His presence immediately drew the eye of a young acolyte sweeping nearby.

"Honored benefactor, have you come to make offerings and pray?" asked an old monk responsible for welcoming guests.

"Hahaha, not so, not so. I’m here to see Master Linghui." The fat man seemed brash and arrogant, but in front of the old monk he adjusted his manner without protest.

"The abbot is currently leading morning prayers; please, honored one, come sit in the guest hall for a time."

"Is Master Yuan Tongzi here? I could speak to him as well," the fat man pressed.

This question surprised the old monk, who asked, "How do you know of Uncle Yuan Tongzi? May I ask your name?"

"I am Watang, King of the Vine Armor Army."

"Ah! This way please; Uncle Yuan Tongzi instructed us that if you ever arrived, we were to bring you to him at once."

King Watang bowed with clasped hands, "My thanks."

The group wandered through Dharma Temple until reaching a plainly built wooden hut—its humble style quite out of place among the grandeur of the temple.

Watang watched as the old monk approached and called inside, "Uncle, the King of the Vine Armor Army has arrived."

"Come in, Watang."

His name spoken directly, Watang showed no reaction; he simply stepped forward and opened the door.

Inside, a single candle burned. A young monk sat upon a meditation mat, striking a large red wooden fish on the table before him.

The monk was handsome, pale-skinned, with narrow eyes radiating a strange, otherworldly aura.

Watang knelt in respect beside him and said softly, "Master Yuan Tongzi, my forces have invaded the Central Plains. Thanks to the high monks you sent, the Great Tang has no one strong enough to stand against my Vine Armor Army."

"It is as it must be," Yuan Tongzi replied with a smile. "But do not underestimate the Great Tang; they may yet have powerful experts among them. It is only now that they are beset on four sides, four against one, that they are suffering such difficulty."

"I understand, Master," Watang replied.

Suddenly, Yuan Tongzi stopped chanting and stood, bracing himself against the table. "Now that you have entered the Central Plains, the time is right. I shall go with you as well."

"Ah!" Shock and joy flickered across Watang’s face.

Yuan Tongzi, though youthful in appearance, stood high in Dharma Temple’s ranks; with his support, the rule of all under heaven seemed within reach.

"No need to pack much luggage. Let us go." Yuan Tongzi picked up his Buddha Beads from the table and walked out of the hut, with Watang hastily trailing him.

If anyone present was born with the Spiritual Eye, they would have seen a green star hovering above Dharma Temple.

Suddenly, that star moved, gliding slowly away from the temple.

...

Above the rank of Grandmaster, there are the ’Five Energies Returning to Origin’ realm and the ’Three Flowers Gathering at the Top Realm’.

When Wu Changsheng, the Immortal, explained this to Qin Yuesheng in times past, it seemed clear enough—but after finally becoming a Grandmaster, Qin Yuesheng discovered the matter was far more complicated.

He could not even touch the threshold of Five Energies or Three Flowers; they were like two illusory, untouchable gates—Qin Yuesheng could not even see where the doors were, let alone step through them.