strictlysupreme Chapter 39: Mountain Mist Clears After Rain
Chapter 39: Mountain Mist Clears After Rain
An hour later, seventy or eighty people had gathered under the old locust tree.
The crowd was somewhat chaotic, varying in height and build, their clothes worn and tattered, many bearing wounds hastily bandaged with strips of cloth. Yet, standing together, they possessed an aura unlike any they had felt yesterday—a resilient spirit emanating from their very bones, a blend of weariness, pain, and a faint trace of pride, born from having weathered bloodshed and personally defended their homeland.
Shi Hu stood at the forefront, leaning on his cane, his single arm hanging in the air, his eyes sweeping across the crowd like knives. Behind him stood more than a dozen brothers who had fought side by side with him to the death at the breach the previous night, each with their chests out and heads held high, their eyes resolute despite their numerous wounds.
Lin Yan had returned from the mountains. He had changed into a clean gray cloth outfit, an old garment that Su Qingyao had found in the town mayor's mansion. It was slightly oversized, but it couldn't conceal the composed and dignified aura he exuded after achieving the Profound Realm. He stood with his hands behind his back on the stone platform, his gaze calmly looking down.
Su Qingyao stood a step behind him, her moon-white dress washed and dried, her long hair simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, revealing her smooth forehead and beautiful neck. In her hands she held several scrolls of array formation outlines that she had memorized overnight, her expression serene.
"Everyone," Lin Yan began, his voice not loud, but clear enough to reach everyone's ears, "Last night, you proved with your blood that the people of Blackstone Town are not lambs to be slaughtered."
The crowd fell silent, and many people began to breathe heavily.
"But mere courage isn't enough," Lin Yan continued. "The demons won't retreat just because we're fearless, and the wickedness of the world won't disappear just because we've won once by sheer luck. To survive, to protect our parents, wives, and children, we need to become stronger."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces—some blank, some excited, some weary: "From this day forward, you are members of the Black Stone Guard. This is not a government job; there is no pay to be embezzled, no prestige to flaunt. What you will have is more rigorous training, more dangerous battles, and... the responsibility to protect this town, to protect your own families."
"Those who are willing can stay. Those who find it too hard, too dangerous, or can't bear to leave their homes can leave now. We will not hold them accountable, and they will still be fellow villagers of Heishi Town in the future."
The place was completely silent, with only the rustling of the locust tree leaves in the wind.
No one moved.
A moment later, a man with a scar on his face said in a muffled voice, "Lord Lin, when those wolf claws almost tore my stomach open last night, I realized something. In this world, there's nowhere to hide. I, Li Tie, have a worthless life, but I'm willing to follow you and Brother Shi Hu to earn a way to survive for Black Stone Town!"
"Me too!" a sturdy young man replied in a deep voice. "My mother and sister are still inside; I can't keep them worrying. Wang Dashan is willing to join Black Stone Guard!"
"And there's me, Zhou Fu!"
"I am Lu Ling!"
Count me in!
Shouts rang out one after another, starting sporadically and then quickly becoming a chorus. Many people's eyes reddened, not from fear, but from the excitement of being recognized and entrusted with a mission. Most of them were farmers, craftsmen, and peddlers from the lowest rungs of society; who had ever imagined that one day they could stand tall and become members of the "Guardian" organization?
Lin Yan watched this scene, a slight tremor in his heart. He knew that these people's loyalty and passion were genuine at this moment. But there was still a long way to go before that genuine passion could be transformed into reliable strength.
"Alright." He raised his hand, silencing the commotion. "Since you've stayed, you must abide by the Black Stone Guard's rules. First, obey orders without question. Second, comrades are brothers. Third, do not bully the townspeople; violators will be expelled."
Three rules, simple and direct. Everyone solemnly agreed.
"Now," Lin Yan stepped down from the stone platform and came to the front of the crowd, "sit cross-legged, close your eyes, concentrate, and relax your body."
Everyone sat down as instructed, and although they were somewhat clumsy, no one made a fuss.
Lin Yan walked up behind the first man, Li Tie. He extended his right hand, his index and middle fingers joined together, a faint gray-black light emanating from the fingertips. A cultivator at the Profound Realm had reached a level of mastery over their own true essence; he could clearly sense the weak and chaotic flow of qi and blood within the other man's body.
"It might be a little swollen and painful, just bear with it," Lin Yan said in a low voice, then lightly tapped his fingertip on the Zhiyang acupoint on Li Tie's back.
A wisp of pure and gentle liquid true essence, like a trickle, flowed into Li Tie's meridians. This true essence was not violent, but it carried an irresistible force of guidance and expansion, slowly advancing along Li Tie's originally congested and narrow meridians. Wherever it passed, it was like spring water melting solid ice, dissolving the impurities and stagnation accumulated over the years, forcibly widening the channels.
"Ugh—" Li Tie groaned, beads of sweat instantly forming on his forehead, his body trembling uncontrollably. The feeling wasn't excruciating pain, but a strange sensation of sourness, numbness, swelling, and heat, as if something long dormant was awakening within him, the throbbing pain of his meridians being forcibly stretched was crystal clear.
Lin Yan's technique was extremely fast, his fingertips skimming the water like a dragonfly, striking several major acupoints on Li Tie's back in succession. With each strike, a wisp of true energy flowed in, clearing a section of the meridian. In just over ten breaths, the flow capacity of Li Tie's main meridians had been forcibly expanded by thirty to forty percent! Although the process was painful, after it was over, he felt his blood and qi circulation suddenly become much smoother, and his back, which used to ache after carrying loads for a long time, now felt a warm and comfortable sensation.
"Activate the Qi and Blood Guiding Technique I passed down to consolidate the effect." Lin Yan withdrew his hand, his voice calm.
Li Tie suddenly realized what was happening and immediately tried to circulate the faint Qi and blood as instructed. Sure enough, the Qi and blood flowed faster in the expanded meridians, with greatly reduced resistance, and he could even faintly feel a faint Qi gathering in his dantian! He opened his eyes in ecstasy, his gaze towards Lin Yan filled with unbelievable gratitude, and he struggled to kowtow.
"Sit down, don't move." Lin Yan pressed down on his shoulder and moved on to the next person.
One, two, three...
Like the most patient craftsman, Lin Yan used his own profound inner energy as a chisel to forcibly pave the "path" of cultivation for these men with weak foundations, some of whom had never even seriously cultivated before. Sweat soaked his forehead, and his face was slightly pale. Clearing the meridians of dozens of people at once was extremely taxing even for someone at the Profound Realm.
But he didn't stop.
Shi Hu was the last one. When Lin Yan's fingers landed on his back, he could clearly feel that the condition of the one-armed man's meridians was even worse—hidden injuries left by years of fighting, the skewed flow of qi and blood caused by the severed arm, and the fierce yet chaotic fluctuations of qi and blood deeply rooted in his bones, belonging to a warrior.
Lin Yan channeled more true energy into the area, and his technique became more refined. He not only cleared the main meridians but also carefully guided the flow of qi and blood to the remaining meridians at the severed arm, attempting to alleviate the excruciating pain that would flare up on rainy days.
Shi Hu gritted his teeth, his bronze face contorted in pain, his single arm digging into the ground, blood seeping from under his fingernails. But when the warm and vast true energy flowed through his body, especially when a long-lost warmth, like melting ice and snow, came from his severed arm, this tough man who never shed tears found his eyes slightly reddening.
Finally, everyone went through it.
Lin Yan returned to the stone platform, his forehead damp with sweat and his breathing slightly rapid. But he stood ramrod straight, his gaze sweeping over the faces below, some excited, some bewildered, some thoughtful.
"Your meridians have been initially unblocked, and you've made your way on the path of cultivation," he said slowly. "But remember, external forces are ultimately just aids. How far you go in the future depends on how much hard work you put in yourself."
He took out several other copied diagrams of the "Breaking Wind Saber Technique" from his robes and handed them to Shi Hu: "Shi Hu will lead everyone in practicing the saber techniques. Every morning, practice the 'Qi and Blood Guiding Technique' for one hour, then practice the saber techniques for two hours. Do not slack off."
"Yes!" the crowd responded in unison, their voices louder than ever before.
Lin Yan then turned to Su Qingyao and nodded slightly.
Su Qingyao took a deep breath and stepped forward. Being young, her cheeks flushed slightly under so many gazes, but her voice remained clear and steady: "Everyone, from today onwards, every afternoon I will be here to teach you the basic techniques of combined formation attacks."
She unfolded a roll of parchment in her hand, on which a simple directional diagram of footsteps was drawn in charcoal. "When humans fight against demons, individual strength is often insufficient. The way of formations is to twist the strength of everyone into a rope, to overcome brute force with skill, and to attack the individual with unity."
She pointed to a spot on the map: "This is the simplest 'Three Talents Formation,' three people in a group, standing in a triangle. One person attacks first, and the other two provide support from the sides, alternating between offense and defense, and their movements must follow closely..."
The girl's explanation wasn't profound, and she even stumbled slightly in some places due to nervousness, but she spoke with utmost seriousness, breaking down and explaining every step, every gesture, and every moment of eye contact in detail. When someone didn't understand, she would personally demonstrate, her moon-white figure moving nimbly and gracefully across the open space, possessing a light and fluid charm despite the lack of true energy infused into her movements.
At first, these rough and tumble men were completely confused, thinking that these roundabout steps were not as satisfying as a single slash. But when Su Qingyao had Shi Hu select three men to fight against a man who was not in formation, following the "Three Talents Formation" formation, the situation immediately changed.
The lone fighter was Li Tie, a man of considerable strength and ruthless swordsmanship. However, faced with the seemingly chaotic yet coordinated movements of the three men, which effectively blocked all his attack routes, he was overwhelmed and disarmed in just a few rounds. The trio, on the other hand, remained unharmed.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
"This is the wonder of formations." Su Qingyao paused her demonstration, slightly out of breath, sweat beading on her forehead. "I don't expect everyone to be an expert, but I do require you to trust your companions, understand commands, and hold your positions. Once you've mastered it, a formation of three to five people can defeat ten times more scattered soldiers; a formation of dozens can even hold your own against a pack of demon wolves!"
Now, no one dared to underestimate these seemingly fancy "steps." Everyone stared wide-eyed, following Su Qingyao's instructions, clumsily but earnestly beginning to practice the most basic triangular stance and step alternation.
Lin Yan watched quietly from the side.
He saw Su Qingyao's chapped lips from repeated explanations, the mud on the hem of her skirt as she demonstrated, and the increasingly bright look in her eyes—a sense of satisfaction and joy from the application of knowledge, the inheritance of family traditions, and the realization of her own value.
He also saw Shi Hu leaning on his wooden cane, meticulously correcting everyone's movements, his single arm waving with an air of convincing authority; he saw Li Tie, Wang Dashan, Zhou Fu, Lu Ling and others learn the fastest, soon able to lead their teams in simple coordination; and he saw those men whose eyes had been numb gradually straightening their backs and their eyes shining through the tedious repetitive practice.
He knew the seed had been planted. What remained was the watering with sweat, time, and blood.