I Can Strengthen Infinitely

Without anyone knowing, Qin Yuesheng quietly left Chang’an, preparing to travel the world first, to see if he could find a Grandmaster to exchange insights with and resolve his own doubts.

The first target of this journey for Qin Yuesheng was Damo Temple, a place he had long heard about even before leaving Cyan Yang City.

Back when he had just started practicing martial arts, and asked Qin Yu, the chief escort of his family’s escort agency, about external hardening, Qin Yu mentioned that Damo Temple was founded by Grandmaster Damo. Since Damo Temple had produced a Grandmaster before, they should have some understanding of the Grandmaster Realm, and might be able to resolve Qin Yuesheng’s doubts.

With that idea in mind, Qin Yuesheng set off alone, quietly embarking on the road westward.

This time, he was no longer rushing, but traveling leisurely at ease.

Nowadays, the Central Plains had long lost any peaceful lands. War raged everywhere, families were torn apart, the people wandered as refugees, suffering endlessly, their complaints filling the air.

On the official road, a young man in a gray robe, wearing a bamboo hat, was riding an old horse, ambling along.

The youth was simply dressed, the only thing of value being the sword on his back, which looked like it could fetch a little silver taels at a pawnshop. He did not look like some easy mark.

"Good little sister, don’t be upset. When we get to the next city, big brother will take you to see some jewelry."

A group of refugees came walking towards him. Some wore patched ragged clothes, others wore fine thin shirts—most likely a wealthy family moving together.

Qin Yuesheng continued to sit on his horse with eyes closed, snoring, while secretly splitting a bit of his mind to eavesdrop on the whispered chatter of everyone in that group.

In the world of the Jianghu, you meet all kinds of people. Qin Yuesheng’s strange posture didn’t attract any attention.

Among the refugee group, a few brawny men who seemed like bodyguards glanced at Qin Yuesheng, then quickly looked away.

Donk, donk, donk!

Suddenly, the ground started to shake slightly—a tremor difficult to perceive. Qin Yuesheng opened his eyes a little, instantly aware that a group of horsemen was approaching from somewhere.

These days, in broad daylight, only the Great Tang army or the local rebels would have such a large mounted group.

With Qin Yuesheng’s understanding of the Sanhuang deployments, this area couldn’t possibly have Great Tang troops passing by, so it must be the rebels.

"How miserable." Qin Yuesheng glanced at those refugees.

Sure enough, in less than ten breaths, dust rose at the end of the road, a billowing yellow cloud approaching at great speed.

The refugees didn’t even need Qin Yuesheng’s warning to notice this strange situation themselves.

"Not good! They’re here to kill us!"

"Run! Run away!"

The western Central Plains was overrun by the Vine Armor Army—these soldiers only knew how to loot and seize, snatching wealth, snatching women. Falling into their hands led to an extremely tragic fate.

At that thought, the crowd erupted into chaos. Many dropped their baggage and dragged their wives and daughters off the sides of the road in panic.

At times like this, the saying "barefooted people run faster than those with shoes" comes completely true.

The quickest to flee were the common folks who barely carried anything—light bags on their backs didn’t hinder their running. But the wealthy, with ever more things to take, couldn’t bear to abandon them and became red-faced with anxiety, like ants on a hot plate.

"Hahaha! There are people here! What a big haul!"

"Rob them! Grab all the good stuff!"

Qin Yuesheng guided his old horse slowly to the center of the road, then stood there, motionless, like a boulder blocking the way.

The Vine Armor soldiers on horseback, seeing this, became even more excited, cracking their horsewhips faster, charging at Qin Yuesheng like a flood.

Qin Yuesheng extended his palm—a Little Red Sun instantly appeared in his hand and shot straight out.

The Red Sun spun, casting out three ribbons of crimson flame along the road. Wherever it passed, the ground erupted in fire. When it hit the charging Vine Armor Army, they hadn’t even reacted before their bodies began to ignite in the Little Red Sun’s intense heat, falling off their horses, writhing in agony.

And that wasn’t all. Once the Little Red Sun flew seventy feet out, it suddenly exploded. Like the blazing sun descending from heaven, it covered that area in dazzling red light. In just a few breaths, the Vine Armor soldiers were reduced to withered skeletons, everything on their bodies incinerated—only their bones, resistant to burning, left faint traces behind.

A few lucky Vine Armor soldiers survived, but their horses collapsed in terror, unable to move.

Facing the raging sea of flames, the surviving Vine Armor soldiers were utterly shell-shocked. In all their lives, they had never witnessed anything like this.

Qin Yuesheng reached out and grabbed—one of them was instantly pulled off the ground and fell into his grasp, helpless.

Looking at Qin Yuesheng’s face, this man instantly wet himself, water dripping down his ankles onto the ground as he trembled all over.

"Don’t be afraid. Where is your main army? Tell me." Qin Yuesheng said.

"Behind us, still behind us. We’re just the vanguard."

"How far behind? Give me a number."

"Should be about a hundred li away."

Bang!

With a flash of fire, the man instantly vaporized on the spot.

After disposing of the remaining Vine Armor soldiers, Qin Yuesheng slapped his horse and galloped into the distance, quickly disappearing from the official road.

Everything happened so fast. The refugees went from panic, to shock, to confusion—emotions shifting wildly.

It wasn’t until Qin Yuesheng’s figure had vanished that they finally realized what had happened, their bodies relaxing in relief.

"We’re saved! Thank goodness!"

"Thank goodness my ass! We should be thanking that benefactor just now."

"But we don’t even know our benefactor’s name."

"Let’s hurry up. If we run into the Vine Armor Army again, we’ll all die on this road."

...

The Vine Armor King was originally a Great Tang feudal lord enfeoffed in Bashu—a hereditary position meant to defend Bashu for the Great Tang, essentially making him a local emperor.

But Bashu is mountainous and treacherous, hardly as alluring as the fertile, vast Central Plains. Outwardly, the Vine Armor King’s family had always been loyal to the Great Tang, but secretly, they’d long harbored ambitions of rebellion, preparing for generations.

The plan was to wait a few more years, until the Great Tang further decayed under the Ten Eunuchs’ control. Then the Vine Armor King would raise his army in revolt.

Unexpectedly, this plot somehow leaked, and so the Vine Armor King was forced to rebel ahead of schedule, proclaiming himself king in Bashu.

He wasn’t the only rebel in the west, but he stood out for his years of thorough preparation. In just a few months—like the way Sanhuang absorbed the Liu, Cao, and Wu families in Jiangnan—he conquered all of Bashu, unified the land, and became King of Bashu.

The Yellow Turban Immortal Sect and White Lotus Saint Sect both once had pawns in Bashu. That the Vine Armor King could defeat them meant he had powerful backers—yet those forces were too mysterious and low-profile for anyone to ever trace them out.

No one in the world would ever guess that the one supporting the Vine Armor King was Damo Temple—among the ten great sects, the least likely to meddle in the nation’s chaos.

Twenty vanguard columns marched ahead, as the Vine Armor King led three hundred thousand Vine Armor troops behind—a mighty force that no Great Tang army dispatched could hope to defeat.

At this rate, within a month, the Vine Armor King would reach the gates of Chang’an City.

"Hahaha, all thanks to Master Yuantongzi’s help, our army’s journey has been so smooth! Looks like my invasion of Chang’an and ascension to the throne is just around the corner." In the Vine Armor Army camp, Vadang sat before Yuantongzi, speaking respectfully.

"Do not grow too joyful—beware that joy turns to sorrow." Yuantongzi, sitting in meditation, replied.