The Overlord of Puluo

The Pocket Dwelling chose a forest within Qiu Luoye's territory as the site for the station. The station would be built underground. The Pocket Dwelling was confident he could hide the construction from both Qiu Luoye and the aberrant creatures in his territory, but he still needed Li Banfeng to provide cover.

Fortunately, Qiu Luoye had little attention to spare. He was already overwhelmed by the land activation and the trials of worthiness, all while remaining on guard against anyone the Inner Provinces might send. He spent every day rushing from one problem to the next.

While helping the Pocket Dwelling conceal the construction, Li Banfeng contacted Luo Zhengnan and asked him to tell Ma Wu to continue recruiting people for the land activation.

Ma Wu could not help feeling curious. More than a thousand people are already activating plots in the New Land. Just what kind of spectacle is that going to be? And Old Qi still wants more people?

Ma Wu opened the account books and looked over the figures. Money had been pouring out lately as though someone had opened a floodgate.

Just how grand a scheme is he planning?

***

A beggar covered in festering sores stood outside the entrance to Freewind Wharf, quietly watching the crowd sign up for the land activation.

Li Qi was offering high wages. Anyone in Greenwater City who was struggling to make ends meet wanted to give it a try. Those who had been to the New Land before needed no convincing. They were ready to leave that very day. Even some who had never been there before worked up the courage to join them.

Greenwater Beggar rattled the bowl in his hand as he wondered what Li Qi was planning.

Is he trying to turn Elephant Qiu's territory into Proper Land? If he actually succeeds, he will become one of the first landowners there. And if the entire land ends up belonging to him, the benefits will be enormous.

But activating the land isn't enough. Where is he going to find ten thousand people willing to settle there for good? How much would he have to pay before anyone agreed to live in a godforsaken place like Elephant Qiu's territory? And how is he going to manage all those people?

With only what Li Qi and Ma Wu had built up so far, managing an entire stretch of Proper Land would be no easy task. Even the four great families could not pull off something like that.

If Li Qi isn't a madman, he shouldn't be doing this. Yet he is doing it. This means someone is helping him. Who is helping him? And why is he recruiting so many people so openly in Greenwater City?

Greenwater Beggar picked up his begging bowl and left Freewind Wharf.

Li Qi. What an interesting man. And interesting men have always been dangerous. Who are the people backing you after? If they are after me, I should kill you as soon as possible. And if they are not... Killing you probably won't hurt either.

***

The station was completed in the heart of the forest. Under normal circumstances, its entrance was completely hidden and looked no different from the surrounding area.

Seven old trees stood around the entrance. Insects had burrowed into each trunk to a different depth, causing every tree to produce a different note when struck. The entrance would only open if someone struck the seven trees in the correct order and played "The Pretender."

With the station safely concealed, Li Banfeng prepared to make a trip back to Greenwater City. He planned to oversee the recruitment for the land activation himself.

He had travelled this road countless times and could have found his way with his eyes closed. After passing through Gourd Gully, he was about to reach Blue Poplar Village when a man sitting by the roadside raised a bowl and called out, "Kind sir passing by me! Please have pity on me! I haven't eaten all day!"

Due to being near Greenwater Bay, Li Banfeng would always be very careful whenever he encountered beggars. This beggar had a clean face, with none of the festering sores commonly seen among beggars. His clothes were ragged and patched together from scraps of cloth in all sorts of colors. He looked at least seventy. His lips had sunk inward, and he did not seem to have many teeth left.

Li Banfeng took out a piece of dry provisions. "Can you eat this?"

The old beggar nodded vigorously. "I can!"

Li Banfeng held the food over the bowl. Just as he let go and it was about to fall inside, the old beggar suddenly rattled off a sentence at lightning speed. "Since you have already given it, then..."

The words came too quickly and without warning. Li Banfeng had no time to react. The Tang Saber shot from its sheath and pierced the beggar's bowl. The dry provisions missed the bowl and fell to the ground.

The beggar reached down to pick them up, but the Tang Saber stabbed through the food and flicked it away.

"My lord, be careful! This is a Beggar Cultivator!"

A Beggar Cultivator? Li Banfeng had never encountered this Daoist path before. He had only heard of Yuan Shoulü being the cultivator of this path and the land deity of Beggar Bay.

Yuan Shoulü was later on defeated by Greenwater Beggar and lost his territory. After Greenwater Beggar became the new land deity, Beggar Bay was renamed to what was now Greenwater Bay.

Could this beggar be Yuan Shoulü? Li Banfeng activated Keen-Eyed Perception and studied him. Ghostly fire clung to the beggar.

This beggar was really a land deity! He really might be Yuan Shoulü! All this time, he had been living right beside Greenwater Beggar's territory!

The Tang Saber thrust straight at the beggar's brow. Instead of dodging, the beggar stretched out his hand to take the stab. While he was doing that, he chanted rapidly, "Have pity on me!"

The Tang Saber recoiled at once, not daring to complete the strike. He had not been scared. He just knew that the beggar had activated an ability.

The Liquor Gourd cried out, "Begging for mercy and Pleading for pity! Handsome little fella, you mustn't give him anything, or you will lose combat power!"

If the beggar had managed to take the Tang Saber, it would have counted as Li Banfeng giving him the blade as alms. Li Banfeng would have lost some of his combat power. The loss itself would not have been great, but it would also have set off the beggar's other abilities.

After failing to seize the Tang Saber, the beggar reached for Li Banfeng instead.

Li Banfeng did not dare block him and dodged with all his strength. He knew far too little about Beggar Cultivators. Even parrying a single blow might bring further trouble.

What happened next proved that he had made the right choice. If he had chosen to block or fight back, this beggar would have taken something from him. It could be a small item he carried or even a scrap torn from his clothes. Once the beggar took anything from him, his ability would take effect.

When Li Banfeng dodged, the beggar reached for his lapels instead. Li Banfeng was too fast for him and slipped away each time his hand came near.

After several failed attempts, the beggar pulled out a bamboo tube from inside his clothes.

Li Banfeng thought it was some kind of weapon or enchanted artifact, but to his surprise, the beggar raised it to his lips and began to play.

It was a wind instrument called a chi. To Li Banfeng's surprise, the beggar played it beautifully, and he genuinely enjoyed the melody.

The Liquor Gourd cried out, "Handsome little fella, you mustn't listen! He's activating the ability Playing the Chi to Beg for Food!"

As the Liquor Gourd cried out, the Tang Saber thrust toward the bamboo tube.

What would happen if Li Banfeng kept listening? If he heard the tune through to the end, he would feel compelled to give the beggar something. No one needed to force him. His own conscience would torment him until he gave in.

The moment he handed anything over, the ability would take effect and sap a portion of his combat strength.

Li Banfeng had no idea of this. All he knew was that the bamboo tube was very powerful.

The Tang Saber was holding back and not daring to attack the beggar directly. Li Banfeng picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the bamboo tube.

As long as it was within five meters, he would never miss. The stone struck the bamboo tube and broke it in half.

A Beggar Cultivator's bamboo tube was specially crafted and had to be nurtured using methods unique to the Beggar Cultivation path. Most Beggar Cultivators possessed only one. With his tube broken and no way to replace it on the spot, the beggar could no longer activate Playing the Chi to Beg for Food.

To Li Banfeng's surprise, the beggar tossed aside the broken bamboo tube and bent down to pick up the stone at his feet. He muttered, "Since you've already given me something, then..."

The Tang Saber swept its blade to strike at the beggar's hand. The beggar grabbed for the Tang saber, forcing the saber to dodge hastily, while the beggar went for the stone again.

The Liquor Gourd shouted, "That might trigger the ability Making Insatiable Demands! Don't let him pick up that stone!"

Li Banfeng really didn't expect that a stone could count as alms. With an ordinary Beggar Cultivator, only something of actual use would count as alms. This beggar, however, had reached such a high level of cultivation that even a gob of spit could be accepted as alms.

Both Wailing for Mercy and Playing the Chi to Beg for Food drained their target's combat strength. Neither took very much, so the loss alone was not too severe. The actual terrifying thing would be that if either ability took effect, it would trigger this follow-up ability, Making Insatiable Demands.

Making Insatiable Demands was a level-nine ability of the Beggar Cultivation path. Once a Beggar Cultivator accepted something as alms, he could continue demanding more, whether it was a limb, an internal organ, or even an enchanted artifact. If the difference in cultivation was great enough, he could demand the target's life. Whatever he asked for, the target would have no choice but to surrender it.

While the beggar lowered his head and looked for the stone, Li Banfeng's opportunity came. He suddenly disappeared.

The beggar raised an eyebrow. "Passing Flowers on Horseback?"

He wasn't in a hurry to find Li Banfeng. Instead, he stood and waited at the same spot.

Li Banfeng successfully activated Passing Flowers on Horseback. Still, he was worried that the beggar would still be alive, so he tried to activate Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers. However, the Tang Saber stopped him before he could activate it.

Why is he stopping me?

The thought had barely crossed Li Banfeng's mind when he froze. The beggar was still standing in the same spot, almost completely unchanged.

Rip!

With a sharp rip, a gash opened across the beggar's face. It was barely over an inch long and shallow enough to show only a little blood.

Li Banfeng stared in disbelief. He knew cultivators at the Cloudborne Layer could survive Passing Flowers on Horseback, so he had never expected to kill the beggar in a single strike. Even so, he had not expected the ability to inflict so little damage.

The beggar touched the cut and chuckled. "Hehe~ That was painful."

The Liquor Gourd muttered under its breath, "Thick-Skinned and Shameless."

The ability Thick-Skinned and Shameless reduced a fatal wound to a cut on the Beggar Cultivator's face. Since the skin on a Beggar Cultivator's face was extraordinarily thick, the cut would cause very little actual harm.

This ability's defensive power rivaled that of Homebound Heart and Thickset Body, but unlike Homebound Heart and Thickset Body, it had no limit on uses. As long as his stamina held out, a Beggar Cultivator could keep using Thick-Skinned and Shameless ability indefinitely. Its only drawback was the considerable preparation time it required.

The beggar had seen far more fights than Li Banfeng, and he knew exactly how to bait an opponent. When he bent down to pick up the stone, it was just a trick to get Li Banfeng to attack. He had already prepared Thick-Skinned and Shameless and was simply waiting for Li Banfeng to strike.

He knew that Li Banfeng would trust in the deadly power of Passing Flowers on Horseback and strike again to finish the job. He just didn't expect the Tang Saber to stop Li Banfeng.

The Liquor Gourd seized the moment to whisper urgently in Li Banfeng's ear, "Handsome little fella, whatever you do, don't run. That stone is still on the ground."

Several seconds had passed from the moment he threw that stone until now. Was the beggar's ability still in effect? Technically, the effect should have worn off by now, but the Liquor Gourd didn't dare to take this gamble.

"I'm not very familiar with Beggar Cultivators either. His cultivation is too high, so I can't tell how long his abilities will last. Handsome little fella, keep him busy a little longer. Try to drag it out past a minute."

Past one minute? Against a powerful opponent like this, even one extra second could be fatal.

As Li Banfeng considered his next move, the Tang Saber suddenly returned to his pocket. He immediately turned and ran.

The beggar didn't go for the stone. Instead, he went after Li Banfeng right away.

Li Banfeng's hunch had been right. But what had made him so sure?

The reason went back to the moment he had thrown the dry provisions. Before the provisions had even landed in the bowl, the beggar had shouted, "Since you've already given it, then..."

The truth was that the beggar only needed to wait a little bit more. He just needed to shout after the dry provisions had fallen into the bowl. By then, Li Banfeng would have fallen into his trap.

But why had he been in such a rush to shout? And why didn't the beggar go after the dry provisions after the Tang Saber had struck it away?

From this, Li Banfeng concluded that a Beggar Cultivator's abilities were bound by strict time limits. The interval between receiving alms and activating the corresponding ability was extremely short. Since the beggar had failed to pick up the stone within a few seconds, its effect had most likely already expired.

It was a very risky move. What if Li Banfeng had guessed wrong?

If Li Banfeng had guessed wrong, the beggar would have gone back for the stone. Li Banfeng could then have turned around before the beggar had reached it and fought him to the death. He was faster, after all, so he would still have had a chance.

The chase lasted less than a minute before the beggar gave up. He simply could not catch Li Banfeng.

"Not bad, kid. You can still run like that after using Passing Flowers on Horseback."

The beggar glanced around, feeling a little uneasy about letting Li Banfeng escape. He muttered inwardly to assure himself, It will be fine.. Just don't tell him about it and he won't know.

The beggar went back to his original spot and prepared to lie in wait for his next victim. Then he noticed another beggar, whose face was covered in festering sores, approaching from a distance.

Greenwater Beggar!

The beggar hurriedly got to his feet and offered Greenwater Beggar a smile.

The Greenwater Beggar looked at the beggar's face and asked, "You are hurt?"

The beggar shook his head and said, "No-no.. My face was just itching and I scratched it open myself."

The Greenwater Beggar's eyelid twitched. Then he smiled. "You used the ability Thick-Skinned and Shameless, didn't you? He passed through here, didn't he?"

The beggar pursed his lips. "Someone came by. It might have been him, but I don't know for sure..."

The Greenwater Beggar reached out and stroked the beggar's face. Immediately, a patch of angry welts erupted across the beggar's face.

The beggar trembled from head to toe. "I really don't know if that was him or not!"

The Greenwater Beggar kept smiling. "Let him slip past you one more time, and I will take your life."

Author's Note:

PS: The Greenwater Beggar is really too ruthless. He was ready to kill without even bothering to find out what had happened!