Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

...

On the other side.

After the caravan rested, they entered the territory of Shuangyang Mountain.

Shuangyang Mountain is composed of two undulating peaks.

The road through the mountain valley is the official road leading to Dongling City.

This is also the easiest and shortest road.

If other routes are chosen, the only option is to detour around Shuangyang Mountain, making the journey more difficult.

If it were a year ago, even though the road was difficult, many caravans chose to detour.

Because a year ago, Shuangyang Mountain was controlled by Shuangfeng Village, which collected tolls along the way.

If that were the only issue, the caravans would not have chosen to detour.

The main reason was that Shuangfeng Village did not follow rules, forcibly taking women with some beauty from the caravans when they became lustful.

Sometimes, if the words were not courteous, bloodshed would occur.

This made passing caravans avoid it as one would snakes and scorpions, not daring to traverse Shuangyang Mountain even though it was an official road.

But since last year, the situation has improved.

Because Shuangyang Mountain got a new master.

An outer disciple defector from the Vajra Temple cleaned out the previous Shuangfeng Village, occupied the mountain, and became the mountain king of Shuangyang Mountain.

This defector from the Vajra Temple does charge a higher toll, but he follows the rules strictly.

As long as the toll is paid honestly, people are allowed to pass.

This made passing caravans dare to use this official road.

After entering Shuangyang Mountain.

Jiang Ning went to the driver's seat of the carriage where his elder brother and sister-in-law were.

This area is bandit territory.

No one knows if an arrow might suddenly fly from the forest.

So, to be safe, he went to the driver's seat of his elder brother and sister-in-law's carriage, driving it forward slowly.

Not long after entering Shuangyang Mountain, he saw a few pairs of eyes in the dense forest on the slopes on both sides.

Clearly, those eyes belonged to the lookouts of the bandits on Shuangyang Mountain.

After glancing a few times, Jiang Ning was slightly surprised.

These bandits were different from those he had seen before.

They all had signs of martial arts training on their bodies.

"No wonder Shuangyang Mountain is so highly regarded by the caravans ahead!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

From the martial arts traces on these bandits, he knew the Vajra Temple defector was somewhat extraordinary.

Because martial arts training is not that simple, it's not just practicing a few farming techniques that can be called martial training.

It requires refining Qi-Blood, and the body needs a substantial supplement.

For ordinary families, getting enough to eat is a problem, let alone martial arts training.

And for those who have turned to banditry, most of them were disaster victims or starving people, even worse off than ordinary families.

The tales of drinking large drafts of wine and eating meat heartily are just embellishments in stories.

For ordinary bandits, being well-fed and warmly clothed is a dream life.

However, on Shuangyang Mountain, these ordinary people who took to banditry showed signs of martial training.

This represents a significant amount of expenditure.

A moment later.

Flapping——

A flock of partridges suddenly took off from the distant mountain forest.

"Stop——"

A loud voice suddenly rang out from the front.

From the vigorous and resonant tone, one could tell the speaker was quite strong.

This person Jiang Ning had learned a little about from previous conversations with Supervisor Liu in the caravan.

The person was a bodyguard named Jin from the Huwei Escort Agency, a Seventh Grade Refining Muscle expert.

He was also a strong expert specially invited to sit and watch over the caravan.

As Jin the bodyguard spoke, the sounds of reining in horses continuously echoed from the caravan.

In just a moment, the entire caravan came to a halt.

At this moment.

Jin the bodyguard at the front of the caravan couldn't help clenching his fists, easing his nervousness.

Shuangyang Mountain was a place he had never been before in recent years.

So whether the rumors about Shuangyang Mountain were true and whether the Vajra Temple defector followed the rules, he wasn't entirely sure.

After all, anyone who becomes a defector must have violated the rules of the Vajra Temple.

Therefore, he was very nervous.

Even though he already knew that the ex-disciple of the Vajra Temple was also a Martial Arts Seventh Grade like him, his anxiety did not decrease a bit.

A man knows his own limitations.

Even among Seventh Grades, the gap in strength can be extremely wide.

Especially someone like him with a wild path compared to a monk from the Vajra Temple, the gap in strength was a chasm.

The outer sect monks learned Martial Arts Skill from the Vajra Sect, with additional guidance from monks within the temple.

Their strength was on a completely different level.

Moreover, he was gradually aging, his Qi-Blood was declining, no longer at his peak state.

At this moment.

The disturbance from both sides of the road approached, like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

"Here they come!" The head guard said to the escort behind him.

The escort behind him immediately focused his eyes on the right slope of Shuangyang Mountain.

The next moment.

A figure suddenly leaped off a steep slope with a ten-meter drop from the forest.

The huge body appeared like a brown bear falling from a height in mid-air.

Boom——

As the feet landed, the ground roared, and dust flew up.

The head guard felt the slight tremor underfoot, and his heart grew heavier.

With a height of over two meters and a waist as thick as a barrel, this figure had a huge advantage in same-level combat.

Just by seeing this monk in front of him, he knew he definitely wasn't a match.

With this physique, not to mention the monk being from the Vajra Temple, even a wild path like him, just based on congenital physical advantages, could almost sweep through same-level opponents.

On the other side.

The appearance of this monk.

Made Jiang Ning take a few more glances.

Because such a physique was rare to see.

At least, he hadn't seen anyone like this in Luoshui County.

The height was about two meters twenty to two meters thirty.

His arms were thicker than ordinary people's thighs.

Such a tiger-backed, bear-waisted physique was naturally suited for martial practice.

In the same grade, he was inherently stronger than ordinary Martial Artists.

After this monk with two scars on his head appeared.

A crowd of figures emerged from the forest behind him, all wielding brand-new weapons.

"Do you know the rules of Shuangyang Mountain?" the tall and brawny monk spoke.

"Huwei Escort Agency, Jin Mingcheng!" the head guard introduced himself.

"Don't try that on me, kid!" The brawny monk waved his hand impatiently: "It's simple to pass through here, just pay the toll!"

Hearing these words, the head guard's face became a bit unsightly.

Even though he knew the monk in front of him was from the Vajra Temple, he felt a bit displeased.

Usually, when he traveled through Dongling County, no matter which mountain he reached, they would give him some face after he introduced himself.

After all, the main owner of the Huwei Escort Agency was a well-known strongman in Dongling County, who had already reached the Fifth Grade in his early years.

Jiang Ning stood on the driver's seat of the carriage, quietly watching the scene unfold in front of him.

At this point.

A woman's voice called from behind the head guard.

"Head guard, we've arrived at Master Xu's territory, I'm willing to go by Master Xu's rules!"

As the voice sounded, all eyes followed the sound, and a graceful woman, whose age was unknown due to her veil, stepped out of the carriage cabin.

"Do you know me, young lady?" the brawny monk asked.

"Of course, I've heard of Master Xu's heroic deeds." The woman said: "Punching Xiao Baiwan of Chenliu County to death, slapping the infamous 'One Branch Flower' who harmed countless innocent women across the two counties to death in the street."

"Master Xu, such a just and righteous person, is someone I deeply admire!"

Hearing this, the brawny monk's expression softened slightly.

"You have a good eye, young lady, but flattery won't help, the fees... still have to be paid!"

"I understand! I've heard that Master Xu charges tolls based on the number of people and carriages. I wonder if 500 taels for all the people and carriages behind me would suffice?"

"I didn't expect such generosity from you, young lady!" The brawny monk nodded: "Alright, 500 taels will do!"

"Master Xu, may I invite you to join my Su Family and become a tributor for us?"

"Don't indulge in wishful thinking!" The brawny monk waved his hand.

"I was too presumptuous!" The voice was filled with apology.