The Nine Cauldrons

Teng Qingshan’s Ambition

It was nighttime. A bright and clear moon hung high up in the sky, and the dim moonlight covered the entire earth like a thin veil.

On the boundless earth, a handsome horse could be seen running on the official road. It was Teng Qingshan riding on his Dark Veins Horse!

“These three books are still the october edition.” Teng Qingshan knew that the four rankings of the Nine Prefectures were updated semiannually. The new editions of the four rankings were published on the first of April and first of October. “However, Wan Xiang Tower set the price of the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 and the 《Young Phoenix Ranking》 to a hundred silver taels, which is ten times the price of the 《Earthly Ranking》......I have never actually read the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 or the 《Young Phoenix Ranking》.”

Teng Qingshan read while he was riding. He could only read on horseback at night because he was in the state of ‘One with the Horse’ and could see in the dark.

He skimmed through the 《Earthly Ranking》, then opened the thick 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 as he thought to himself, “This ranking only has a hundred and eight people, but it is a lot thicker than the 《Earthly Ranking》. I wonder what the contents are!” As Teng Qingshan flipped through the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》, he saw that the first of the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 was him, Teng Qingshan!

There was a very detailed description of Teng Qingshan.

“Talented expert?” When Teng Qingshan saw how the book referred to him, he shook his head and smiled. He then continued perusing.

He skimmed through the book and soon read the descriptions of the 108 people.

“The 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 described a hundred and eight people, and the 《Earthly Ranking》 described seventy-two, but the price of the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 is ten times that of the 《Earthly Ranking》. No wonder….there is even more information at the back.” Teng Qingshan realized that the descriptions of the 108 people only took up half of the book.

The other half of the book described the many heroes of the Nine Prefectures.

“Eh? First of January edition?” When Teng Qingshan saw the date, he was surprised.

“Because the four rankings of the Nine Prefectures record too few heroes and the great land of the Nine Prefectures has countless heroes, the Wan Xiang Sect records the stories of these outstanding figures in the Chronicles of the Nine Prefectures’ Heroes. The Chronicles of the Nine Prefectures’ Heroes is written in the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 and 《Young Phoenix Ranking》 and is updated monthly.”

When Teng Qingshan saw the line of words in the book, he couldn’t help but laugh, “Haha, this Wan Xiang Sect really knows how to earn money! The two rankings are updated once a month, and each costs a hundred silver taels! Many people most likely buy it every month…...How much money will this earn?”

Even if only one person bought the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 every month, it would be a total of 1200 silver taels a year! That was just the amount earned if one person bought it! Many sects and wealthy merchants would buy it often. Even if there were only ten thousand faithful buyers, the Wan Xiang Sect would earn over ten million silver taels! If faithful buyers, warriors, and other individuals purchased one 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》, then earning a hundred million per year through the sale of the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 wasn’t strange at all.

Through just one 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》 , Wan Xiang Sect would be able to earn ten million silver taels, which was the same as a million gold taels! However, this was just a small amount of the Wan Xiang Sect’s earnings.

“This Wan Xiang Sect is filthy rich. It really knows how to earn money!” Teng Qingshan was extremely surprised. “This book itself is worth nothing, but the information is of great value. And since the Wan Xiang Sect is distributed throughout the land of the Nine Prefectures, they can gather information at a low cost.”

This Chronicles of the Nine Prefectures’ Heroes was very interesting to Teng Qingshan. It recorded the outstanding figures in every area of the Nine Prefectures. Many gang leaders were also recorded in this book.

Teng Qingshan was recorded on the first page!

“Eh? It also recorded what happened during the fight in Wu City? Right. It’s the First of January Edition, and that fight happened during twenty-eighth of December! With Wan Xiang Sect’s ability to gather information, they would have known the same day. They even recorded the words ‘Haha, bastards of Qing Hu Island, do you think you guys can catch me, Teng Qingshan?’ that I shouted that day.”

The information about Teng Qingshan himself took up two and a half pages.

The information written down was very detailed, and there were even words of judgement.

They were words of praises, calling Teng Qingshan one of the most talented experts in the history of the land of the Nine Prefectures.

“The number one expert that appeared in a thousand years?” Teng Qingshan shook his head and smiled, “Actually, I am just an Emptiness Dan innate expert! I haven’t reach the True Dan of the Innate Realm. I am only strong because of the physical strength that I gained by training in Internal Martial Arts!”

In terms of talent, Teng Qingshan knew clearly that he was only considered superior, he was not the number one expert seen in a thousand years.

After perusing the book, Teng Qingshan then immersed himself in the state of ‘One with the Horse’, this harmonious realm.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

He galloped all night long!

……

The Great Prairie was vast and endless!

The entire land of the Nine Prefectures was one big continent. The endless Desolate Land was located south of the Nine Prefectures, while the vast Great Prairie was north of the Nine Prefectures! The Desolate Land and the Great Prairie each occupied an extremely wide area.

How wide was it?

There was no need to explain how wide the Desolate Land was.

The Great Prairie seemed to be very sparsely populated. Oftentime an inhabitant couldn’t be seen even after travelling a distance of several Li! It was a sparsely populated Great Prairie; however, the total population of the three Kingdoms in the Great Prairie, not counting the tribal people, was over ten million!

No one had ever counted the absolute total population in the entire prairie.

A vast but sparsely populated area. Yet, the total population was so great! Based on this fact, one could imagine how vast and boundless the area was. Crossing the Great Prairie was a very difficult task because there were too many tribes and mounted bandits, but it was of no difficulty to an innate expert.

As morning arrived, the bright red sun hung above the horizon to the east and the warm radiance shone the endless prairie.

“Ney ney~~~” A handsome horse with its legs raised to the air appeared.

“I have finally arrived the prairie!”

Teng Qingshan leaped off the horse and gazed at the scenery of the prairie. He couldn’t help but feel shock as he watched.

The sky was crystal clear! White clouds floated as ornaments!

The Great Prairie during early spring was a vast expanse of yellow, it boundaries indiscernible!

At this moment, Teng QIngshan felt that the world consisted solely of this endless and vast grassland, while the sky covered the whole world like the lid of a pot. In the horizon, the prairie and the sky were connected!

“Vast!”

“Endless!”

As Teng Qingshan stood before this endless Prairie and this boundless sky, he immediately felt so small in this world, like a grain of sand!

Standing on this great earth, Teng Qingshan felt——

The great earth was his roots!

“The sky and this great earth!”

If anyone was around him, they would notice that Teng Qingshan actually started performing the ‘Horizontal Fist’ of the Five Element Boxing from Xing Yi Martial Arts. A baby-like smile also appeared on his face. As he performed each move slowly, he gradually closed his eyes.

Teng Qingshan’s attainment of the Five Element Boxing had reached the realm of a Grandmaster.

These years, he had been figuring out the Three Postures and rarely practiced the Five Element Boxing, but at this moment, although his ‘Horizontal Fist’ still had signs of the Five Element Boxing, as time passed…...it began to change.

Two hours, four hours…...

The sun passed from the east to west!

Occasionally, travellers who passed by would see Teng Qingshan practicing, but those people only thought that Teng Qingshan’s fists were very slow. In addition, they were too lazy to care about it.

On the vast prairie, Teng Qingshan closed his eyes and practiced the Horizontal Fist. At this moment, the Horizontal Fist had now evolved into something completely different from the Horizontal Fist of Five Element Boxing.

Each move became heavy.

Each move was as fast as lightning but appeared as slow as a mill.

The sky in the west had turned bright red.

Another group of travellers passed by.

“Look, what is that person doing? His fists are so slow and his eyes are closed.” Wearing a green cloak, a tribal girl with ribbons strapped around her waist pointed at Teng Qingshan as she spoke.

“Naren Tuoya, that might be a warrior.” A muscular tribal man wearing a thick cloak answered.

Suddenly, a skinny young man in their group ran towards Teng Qingshan and grabbed the reins of the Dark Veins Horse, which was a few zhang away from Teng Qingshan. As soon as he grabbed the reins, the Dark Veins Horse neighed, frightening the young horse thief and causing him to immediately look towards Teng Qingshan.

However, Teng Qingshan was still practicing boxing with his eyes closed.

“Wu Di! What are you doing?” the tribal girl shouted in anger.

“This is a Dark Veins Horse!” The skinny young man laughed, “It costs almost a thousand silver taels, enough to buy two hundred sheep for our tribe!”

“Wu Di, let the horse go. That horse belongs to the man practicing boxing,” a silver-haired elder with a round white cap said.

“Let it go!” the tribal girl shouted.

“In your dreams, Naren Tuoya. This is worth two hundred sheep! It’s valued a lot more than all of my possessions combined!” The young man called Wu Di immediately leaped onto the horse as he shouted. Since the Dark Veins Horse was tamed, it didn’t resist. Wu Di clamped his legs around the horse’s belly, and the Dark Veins Horse immediately galloped afar. As it galloped, Wu Di even shouted, “Naren Tuoya, chase after me if you can. Haha….”

The tribal girl was furious and immediately ran to Teng Qingshan’s side.

“Your horse was stolen!” The tribal girl spoke as she pulled Teng Qingshan.

“Bang!”

As soon as the tribal girl touched Teng Qingshan’s body, she was thrown into the air and fell onto the ground. Fortunately, the grass was thick enough and nothing major happened.

“Naren Tuoya!”

Immediately, many people in the group ran over as they shouted in shock.

At this moment, Teng Qingshan opened his eyes. His sight became clear again. “I just…..” Teng Qingshan said to himself. Suddenly, he saw the red sky in the west and thought to himself, “What? It’s already evening?” Teng Qingshan only remember what happened indistinctly.

“Naren Tuoya, are you alright?” Many people surrounded the girl.

“What is wrong with you?” A tribal man glared at Teng Qingshan and exclaimed in anger, “Your horse was stolen and Naren Tuoya informed you with a good intention. Yet, you actually hurt her!”

Teng Qingshan also saw the figure very far away riding a Dark Veins Horse. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of bitterness.

The Dark Veins Horse……..

If it was stolen, then so be it. Teng Qingshan didn’t cared about the Dark Veins Horse, but who would have thought that the rare chance of enlightenment would be destroyed!

“Sorry, I was practicing. I really didn’t know.” Teng Qingshan still apologized sincerely, since he understood that the tribal girl did not do it on purpose.

Naren Tuoya had already stood up. She ran over and stared at Teng Qingshan with her spirited and pure eyes as she said excitedly, “You are so powerful. I only touched you once and I was blasted away. I didn’t feel the presence of inner strength. You must be a very powerful expert. Teach me how you blasted me away!”

“I still have something to do!” Teng Qingshan stared at the crowd and smiled as he said, “I will be leaving first!”

With this, Teng Qingshan immediately headed north.

“Walk with us!” The tribal girl was still shouting when Teng Qingshan’s body seemed to have blurred. With just a few steps, he was already far away.

“This is a powerful expert.”

“He is a truly powerful expert.”

Those people looked at Teng Qingshan’s back in shock. With just a few simple steps, he was far away. They had never seen someone with such ability.

“I knew he was a powerful expert!” Naren Tuoya stared at the tiny figure in the distance helplessly and said to herself, “If only he could teach me...”

……

On the endless prairie, Teng Qingshan walked alone with a bag on his back.

“Why did that girl wake me up?” As Teng Qingshan walked on the prairie, he didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He just felt very bitter. He clenched his fist when all of a sudden, a yellow flash of lightning seemed to have appeared on his fist and disappeared in a flash.

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Unable to endure, Teng Qingshan shouted out loud.

“Should I be happy or angry?” Teng Qingshan knew clearly what happened yesterday!

When Teng Qingshan was growing up in the Teng Jia Village, he had always thought of…...creating a cultivating method that was even more powerful than the Godly Tiger Form Technique! Teng Qingshan had never given up on this goal!

He had always been practicing the Three Postures.

As for the Five Element Spear of Xing Yi, the four techniques that Teng Qingshan created were of the same concept as Internal Martial Arts.

To Teng Qingshan…….

Training his inner strength and Innate True Origin was just a perk! Whether it was in his previous life or this life, Internal Martial Arts was the Art that required the most energy! However, because the Spiritual Qi of Heavens and Earth was sparse, reaching the Grandmaster Realm was the limit!

Teng Qingshan had already reached the Grandmaster Realm!

However, he got the feeling that——there were even higher and deeper realms than the Grandmaster Realm!

If he wanted to reach the higher levels, he must create an Internal Martial Arts technique that was even more powerful than the Godly Tiger Form Technique!

“Just now…..If she didn’t disturb me just now and I practiced in such a realm for ten to fifteen days, I would have been able to create an Internal Martial Arts technique that is even stronger and more profound than the Godly Tiger Form Technique.” Teng Qingshan felt so bitter as he thought.

Such enlightenment was very rare!

Firstly, Teng Qingshan experienced numerous sufferings and frustration. Plus, Zhuge Qing died and he was forced to leave his family and travel far away. All of these refined Teng Qingshan’s mind.

Secondly, Teng Qingshan was well-grounded! He was a grandmaster in his previous life, he cultivated over ten years in this life, and he practiced the Three Postures arduously every day. He had reached a culmination in his realm. With such accumulation of knowledge and cultivation, he would be able to reach enlightenment one day.

Thirdly, before he arrived the Great Prairie, he was being pursued and was in a precarious situation! The endless sky and the endless land of the Great Prairie….stunned Teng Qingshan.

As these three elements combined, Teng Qingshan entered a marvelous realm!

“Within only a day of practice, I have created the foundation of a new technique!” Teng Qingshan currently only remembered two moves.

On the prairie.

Teng Qingshan was practicing these two moves. However, after practicing for one hour, Teng Qingshan gave up.

“I kept feeling like I am about to explode, but I’m suddenly stopped by something! I feel like puking blood!” Teng Qingshan could even feel the blood in his body rippling. “Looks like I have to reach that state of enlightenment! I can only practice in that kind of special state!”

It was just a day of practice….but the result caused Teng Qingshan to feel agitated.

“So within Internal Martial Arts, the realm above the Grandmaster Realm is Communicating Nature!” Teng Qingshan exclaimed as he stared at his fist. An earthy yellow glow flashed. “And what I understood earlier must be the Element of Earth in the Five Elements of the heavens and earth. Unfortunately, I only obtained superficial knowledge!”

Although Teng Qingshan felt bitter, he still felt excited.

Because——

He was no longer oblivious. Now he knew which path to follow!

“Being able to find enlightened this time meant that I have reached the limit of the Grandmaster Realm! If I continue cultivating, I will definitely break through the Grandmaster Realm and reach a higher level!” Teng Qingshan had always had this ambition in his heart!

In this land of the Nine Prefectures, there were two cultivating systems.

One was Daoist!

Whether it was the Emperor Yu’s Hall, the Ying Family, or the Gui Yuan Sect, their cultivation was divided into four great phases: Postliminary Realm, Innate Realm, Emptiness Realm, and Realm of Omnipotent Experts. These cultivators cultivated inner strength, True Origin, and the Golden Dan of the Innate Realm in their Dantian!

The other system was the Buddhist Sect!

The main Buddhist Sect was Mani Temple. Their cultivation was divided into a four great phases: Ordinary Monk, Arhat, Bodhisattva, and Buddha (Omnipotent beings). Such cultivators cultivated the Śarīra, which was located in the body’s Niwan Palace.

TLN: This is where the Niwan Palace is located

Teng Qingshan had an ambition!

He desired to create a third system!

The Internal Martial Arts System!

According to his plan, this system mainly cultivated the human body instead of the Niwan Palace or the Dantian! The Internal Martial Arts System was divided into the Realm of Ordinary Warriors and the Grandmaster Realm. As for the realms higher than the Grandmaster Realm, Teng Qingshan didn't know about them in the past…..but now he had touched upon the edge of the higher realms!

“During this trip, learning the axe technique left by Emperor Yu’s Hall is secondary. The most important thing is to create the third realm of Internal Martial Arts!” At this moment,Teng Qingshan felt very ambitious.

On the boundless prairie, Teng Qingshan walked alone, gradually getting farther and farther away.