Chapter Ten: Transferring the Mnemonic Verse

  Bai Jian's face was heavy with worry, and the four families who heard this also had solemn expressions.

  Bai Jian said, "Originally I thought Your Majesty was absurd, building the Copper Temple and exhausting the people's wealth. Matters of immortals are inherently preposterous. However, this time entering the palace, I actually saw an immortal."

  "Immortal!" Bai Qi exclaimed in shock. He immediately understood that his father was probably talking about a cultivator who practiced the Way of Refining Qi.

  "Hmm, those who claim to be Qi Refiners are Taoist priests by the side of the National Master."

  "Great General!" Bai Wang heard Bai Jian say this and thought that Bai Jian was being bewitched by a demon.

  Bai Jian interrupted his own words, saying: "Not only did I see it with my own eyes, but this Qi Refiner also gave me a hint. Bai Wang, I am already a First-Order Innate, and it's hard to make progress, but after hearing the words of this Qi Refiner, within three to five years, I can once again advance in rank and become a Land Sword Immortal of the Great Jin Dynasty."

  Four families will be shocked, this is no trivial matter.

  Bai Jian tapped his fingers on the table, making a hollow sound. Bai Qi said somewhat unnaturally, "Father, can we just let this matter go?"

  "Absurd!" Bai Jian scolded, then sighed and said: "Even if I abandon my lord's grace and give up my family and career, what about the hundreds of people in our clan? Wouldn't they still be devoured by others in the blink of an eye?"

  Bai Jian, that's the truth in his heart. If he didn't do this, he wouldn't have to be an enemy of all the Qi Refiners under heaven. In that case, with his skills, even if he left the imperial court, no one would be able to do anything to him. However, the Bai family, from top to bottom, will probably be cleared out of the capital city by others.

  His status determines his responsibility. Moreover, the imperial decree is not to be disobeyed, it's not just talk. Unless he wants to rebel, otherwise, whether he wants to do this job or not, it doesn't matter, anyway, he has to take on the role with a hard head.

  The king is like a dragon; those who oppose him will die.

  He himself walked away with a flick of his sleeve. Whether the emperor would pursue the matter or not depended on his mood. If the emperor was in a bad mood, the Boxers would suffer.

  Bai Jian continued: "That national master and I described the distribution of Qi Refiners in the world, their abilities... Ah..."

  "General, are we all useless?" Bai Wang and others heard Bai Jian's meaning, it was clear that they were unstoppable.

  "In short, if it weren't for the twelve copper men, any strong cultivator who came would be more than a match for everyone in this room."

  The four generals had nothing to say, as they had never encountered a Qi Refiner before. Bai Jian's strength was far above theirs, and even the Duke of Rui said that Qi Refiners were unmatched in power, so they didn't dare to refute him. As generals who rose through the ranks on the battlefield, they wouldn't speak recklessly if they weren't confident, let alone boastfully claim that they could go and kill a Qi Refiner.

  Forget it, let's just prepare as usual. You all gather your old troops and head to the western suburbs of Yanshan to set up camp. The Copper Temple must be built, these cultivators are lawless and want to interfere with human affairs, so we'll kill one whenever they come! At this time, Bai Jian also stopped sighing, his words were sonorous and he regained the demeanor of a great general of Jin.

  "Yes." The four generals took their orders and left, Bai Jian glanced at his son, his eyes narrowing.

  "Get up, you..."

  "Dad, I've broken through the boundary and have already reached the Ninth Rank of the Innate Realm!"

  "Where did your long sword come from?"

  Bai Qi took off his sword and placed it on the desk for his father to see, and told him about what had happened with Princess Yuzhen.

  Bai Jian picked up the long sword, drew it out of its scabbard, and a chill sword intent instantly filled the entire study. The desktop in front of the sword tip was split into two halves by the sharp edge of the long sword.

  With a snort, Bai Jian sheathed his sword and frowned: "Qi'er, you went to the Taoist temple on Longhu Mountain, didn't see anyone, Princess Yuzhen took you back to the capital, halfway dropped you off the carriage, and gave you this sword?"

  Bai Qi nodded, and in his heart, he had already guessed what was going on. He said to Bai Qi: "If Princess Yuzhen summons you to the palace, don't mention this matter again. I'll keep the Long Sword, you can't use it yet. Ah, this sword was a gift to me."

  Bai Qi was no fool either; as soon as he heard his father's words, he guessed eight or nine parts of the truth.

  Princess Yu Zhen was somewhat ashamed because what she said could not be fulfilled, so she gave away her long sword, just to make up for it, but it couldn't solve the fundamental problem.

  This long sword can't exert much effect in my hands, but if it's for Father to use, that would be a great help. The wet nurse said before, Father's martial arts skills are almost unbeatable under the Golden Elixir. With this long sword added, he should be able to handle even stronger enemies.

  "Alright, since you're already an adult, I'll teach you the family's traditional gun techniques in the next few days. You've reached the First Heaven Ninth Rank and can start cultivating now." Bai Jian looked at his son with a sense of unease in his heart. Would he be able to make it through next spring?

  Bai Qi didn't show much excitement, having witnessed the techniques of cultivators before. The red lotus temple's monks and their flying prayer beads were still fresh in his memory. Mortal martial arts no longer held a place in Bai Qi's heart.

  "Hey, don't underestimate the True Dragon Seven Killings Spear. All martial arts that combine with the Innate True Qi are passed down from ancient times and may have some connection to the Cultivators of Qi. If you can cultivate it to the ultimate level, no one in the mortal world will be your match, and as for the Cultivators of Qi, I'm afraid most of them won't be able to defeat you either."

  Bai Qi was unhappy in his heart, but he didn't show it. He had already mastered the true dragon seven killings spear technique, but since the oral formula wasn't passed down, he couldn't exert any powerful moves.

  With the mnemonic, I finally have some advanced martial arts skills for self-defense. According to the wet nurse's words, it would take years of time to use that Eternal Night Sword Pill. Can't wait any longer, this True Dragon Seven Kill Spear is a family heirloom martial art, and can be used as soon as the mnemonic is practiced.

  Bai Jing taught his son the oral formula, and then practiced with Bai Qi for an hour, letting Bai Qi understand the secrets of spear techniques on his own. Then he called up his servants and left the White Mansion.

  Bai Qi returned to his room and it was already dark. Xiao Yu was still the leader of the maids, directing those colorful-clad girls to boil water for Bai Qi to take a bath.

  Jianbai returned and was met with a light rain, asking: "What did Master say?"

  "After teaching me how to use a gun, he went off to attend to something without saying anything."

  "Little White Brother, Master's marksmanship, you won't be able to learn much in just ten or eight years. Mother didn't teach you swordsmanship?" Xiaoyu led Baqi into the house, hot water was already prepared, Xiaoyu chased those girls out of the room and helped Baqi change clothes.

  "There's no suitable guy, you stole that thing, Mother said I still can't use it."

  Bai Qi said, stepping into the wooden bucket, closing his eyes, and still thinking about the new mouthful he had just learned. This True Dragon Seven Kill Spear was indeed as his father had said, with a great relationship to the Cultivator's Qi. One set of mouthfuls, nine levels, and once mastered, one could use their innate true energy to activate the power of the first level.

  "I heard from my mother that Princess Yu Zhen sent you back casually, the people of Longhu Mountain are really stingy. Why don't we sneak into the palace and steal something back? Since she's a Qi-refining master, she must have some treasures."

  Bai Qi couldn't help but laugh and said: "The imperial palace is heavily guarded, you think it's the Red Lotus Temple?"

  The little rain poured down, but she didn't think so.

  Bai Qi sensed Xiao Yu's thoughts and warned, "Xiao Yu, there is a national master in the palace who is even more powerful than your mother. Don't do anything rash."

  "Got it, Little White Brother." Xiaoyu stuck out her tongue and licked the corner of her mouth with its bright red tip. She thought to herself that if she were a Golden Elixir-level Great Demon, she would have gone to the Imperial Palace to play with the Emperor long ago. What kind of National Master is this? A Qi-refining cultivator serving as a slave for the Emperor?

  Bai thought to himself, indeed he didn't have any suitable weapons on hand. Next time he saw Princess Yuzhen, he could ask for one or two more. The trouble with the Bai family wasn't caused by you Li family?

  His temperament is actually very close to Xiaoyu's. The extra steadiness isn't necessarily that important.

  The Duke of Wei did not restrict his son's actions, and he was busy every day. Bai Qi had nothing to do, so he thought of the young master of the Wang family who had invited him before, and asked Xiaoyu to write a visiting card, which was sent by a servant.

  Wang Fang's father was the Grand Commandant of the current dynasty, in control of a large army. Although Wei Guogong Bai Jian had already retired from his official position, everyone knew that he and Wang were on good terms.

  Bai Qi sent a letter of invitation, only wanting to make an appointment to have some fun, but unexpectedly Wang Fang came to the door that day.

  Wang Fangke didn't come alone, in the side hall, there were three young nobles waiting. Seeing Bai Qi come out, Wang Fang burst into laughter and came up to give Bai Qi a hug, this was indeed the manner of a military family. The other three young men looked on without surprise. They could mix with Wang Fang because they were people of similar temperament.

  Wang Fang introduced them to Bai Qi. The three young men were also from noble families. One of them was even the son of the commander of the Imperial Guard.

  Bai Qi made a gesture, and the three of them, like Wang Fang, were agile and full of energy. Such noble young masters were not uncommon in the Great Jin Dynasty.

  The ranking from oldest to youngest is: Wang Fang is the oldest, Bai Qi is the youngest. The young man Su Mu, who came from the Imperial Guard, ranked second, the sixth son of Duke Dingguo, Guo Ai, ranked third, and the young master of the Hou family of Wuyang, Ye Qiao, ranked fourth.

  "After exchanging pleasantries, Wang Fang said: 'Qing Yu, I've asked you to come this time because there's something on my mind.'"

  "You said, as long as it's not robbing the imperial palace, we'll go." Bai Qi's words and actions were unrestrained, which was consistent with the rumors about him in the capital. The other three young men listened happily, fearing that Wang Fang's people would be uninteresting, but Bai Qi's behavior suited their taste.

  The servants in the White Mansion who were waiting on him heard this and were frightened, and General White dismissed them, saying: "I don't know what urgent matter you have, but why do you look like that?"

  "Hey, nothing much, just got into a conflict with some princes and I need your help. I could tell you were handy in a fight that day."

  Bai Qi was taken aback, "Fighting? In the capital, can one still beat up a prince?"

  Wang Fang knew that Bai Qi was thinking wrongly, and said: "It's not a private fight. If we were to fight, those princes wouldn't be our match, but their guards are extremely ruthless. It's just that I've made an appointment with those useless people to go hunting in the western suburbs. If we don't provoke them, we won't have many opportunities to enter the imperial hunting grounds."

  Everyone burst out laughing, originally they didn't take those princes seriously, just treating it as a form of entertainment.

  Is it better than hunting? Those princes, even with the help of experts by their side, don't know the intricacies of the mountains like these people do.

  At this time, Bai Qi thought of something else. What if he beat a certain prince until his face was swollen and bruised? Would the emperor be so angry that he would remove his father from office?

  Bai Qi smiled slyly at this thought. In the eyes of Wang Fang and others, Bai Qi's expression had a somewhat sinister meaning.