```
With Yang Ge’s donkey-like stubbornness, is he the kind of person who would swallow his pride?
That dead eunuch with his "Imperial Patrol" golden plaque is indeed ruthless.
But no matter how ruthless, can he really outdo the collective force of those behind the three big grain merchants?
When Yang Ge targeted the three big grain merchants, did he even blink?
The grand scheme where the three big grain merchants played with half the territory of Wei in their palms didn’t scare Yang Ge at all.
How could that dead eunuch think he could intimidate Yang Ge with just a golden plaque?
After that day, Fang Ke had carefully reflected on all the people and events he had experienced since he met Yang Ge.
He found that the only person who truly had a hold over Yang Ge was Shen of the Northern Pacification Commission.
No one else, whether it was the Yan Yun Five Ghosts, the three big grain merchants, or the Jiangzuo Changfeng Gang, ever fooled him!
Even when Yang Ge was once thrown over the shoulder by "Hunjiang Dragon" Lei Heng and smashed to the ground, coughing up blood, he was still laughing...
However, even Shen only had a hold over Yang Ge inwardly.
On the surface, it was usually Yang Ge who had the upper hand over Shen.
Can you believe that a Brocaded Guard commander of a thousand, when visiting the home of a chief banner officer, not only had to scrounge for a meal but also had to bring his own drinks and dishes?
And can you believe that the commander of the Northern Pacification Commission had to proactively send New Year’s gifts to the chief banner officer, congratulating him on a promotion that he himself had arranged?
Moreover, if Fang Ke remembers correctly, when Shen met Yang Ge...
Yang Ge was just a second-rate inn waiter earning 120 wen a month, without a place of his own, and with martial skills only eight parts developed out of nine.
And now, Yang Ge has become a trial hundred households officer of the Brocaded Guards, his Inner Qi fully cultivated, who can casually don a nine-tube mask and carve out a fearsome reputation as "Zhang Mazi" that shakes the Heluo region.
That dead eunuch thinks he can control him?
Only if he can find Yang Ge’s entire family first!
Therefore...
There’s only one truth!
That is, who would bother arguing with a dead man over his attitude?
Realizing this truth made Fang Ke’s flesh creep, feeling a chill at the base of his neck...
And the worst part, he couldn’t discuss it with anyone!
Tell it to Shen?
Yang Ge hadn’t said or done anything yet; reporting Yang Ge’s behavior to Shen would just be asking for trouble, right?
Directly talk to Yang Ge himself?
What if, just what if, Yang Ge really had no such intentions. Wouldn’t Fang Ke be giving him ideas by mentioning it?
If he couldn’t talk to either of those two, then who could he speak to?
He surely couldn’t run to that dead eunuch and say, "Hey, dead eunuch, do you know you’re about to die?"
The dead eunuch would probably just turn around and finish him off first!
Harboring such suspicions, how could he not be overjoyed to hear Yang Ge wanted to slack off?
Slacking off is good, slacking off is wonderful!
A long enough period of slacking off might even dissipate the resentment in Yang Ge’s heart.
Everyone’s necks would be saved, it would be good for him, good for me, good for everyone.
...
Yang Ge had no idea of the complex journey of Fang Ke’s thoughts.
All he felt was that ever since that dead eunuch personally brought Pei Yu into the inn that day, Fang Ke’s gaze toward him had become quite strange.
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No, it was very strange!
No matter what he did, when he turned around, he would always catch Fang Ke staring at him with a sneaky look.
The moment he looked at Fang Ke, Fang Ke would hurriedly shift his gaze away and pretend to casually look somewhere else...
That piercing stare made him feel very uncomfortable!
I regard you as a brother, but you want to sleep with me?
```
This conjecture made Yang Ge feel uncomfortable all over when he saw Fang Ke again, always feeling that the latter was pondering something immensely disrespectful.
Therefore, after confirming there were no issues with his body double, he stopped going to Drum and Bell Alley altogether, determined to avoid that fellow until he found his "intended person".
Otherwise, being seen too much by him might taint him.
Drum and Bell Alley was not an option.
Yuelai Inn was not open for business.
Leaving the city was also inappropriate.
He couldn’t even tend to the fields...
So, what was he to do?
Practice martial arts, of course!
After all, ever since the night of the third day of the New Year when he had killed three members of the Changfeng Gang, he had a new understanding of his sword technique for the Ling Frost Blade. He felt it was the perfect opportunity to carefully ponder this insight.
As to what this understanding was...
Yang Ge couldn’t say for sure, but when he slashed with his blade, he no longer needed to actively simulate the ’kill or not kill’ cold and detached mindset he used during practice as before.
Now, a casual slash would naturally carry a hint of ’kill or not kill’, that pure killing intent.
This bit of pure killing intent was akin to the crucial stroke in the painting of a dragon’s eye for the Ling Frost Blade technique!
Without this bit of pure killing intent, the blade’s energy would be dead, blunt, having the shape of a blade but in reality, it was just condensing Inner Qi into a mass and throwing it out, completely lacking the sharpness a blade’s energy should have.
Whereas with this bit of pure killing intent, the blade’s energy came alive, becoming sharp. When the blade’s energy was unleashed, it no longer relied solely on brute force to work wonders; its own sharpness and edge were now sufficient to surpass the power of great strength.
To put it vibrantly...
Blade energy without killing intent was like clenched fists that could only injure someone with great force.
But blade energy with killing intent was like holding a dagger, which could still kill even without much force.
After grasping this pure killing intent, reexamining the six killing moves of the Ling Frost Blade was like untangling a messy thread and finding a lead, making everything fall into place.
Henceforth, the Ling Frost Blade technique began to exhibit its true power in his hands!
As for his Inner Qi, Yang Ge had advanced the accompanying internal cultivation method of the Floating Snow Palm, the Snow Drift Secret, to the fourth level, ’Yin Yang Harmony’, where he could circulate six strands of Yin and Yang balanced Inner Qi simultaneously within his body, maximizing the development of his meridians, acupoints, and Dantian.
With a thorough understanding of the hundred meridians, Yang Ge could bypass the process of developing his meridians and acupoints, and focus single-mindedly on developing his Dantian to increase the capacity of his Inner Qi.
But even so, he felt that to fully master this level would take at least three more months.
Of course, he didn’t have to fully master this level. He could forcibly ascend to the final level of the Snow Drift Secret, ’Different Paths Same Destination’, even with only half mastery.
But the loss would be his own...
The True Essence realm was not a difficult challenge for Yang Ge.
But he neither wanted to be the weakest True Essence giant nor become the lower limit of the ’Grandmaster physique’ as mentioned by Shen Fa.
And if he rushed into the True Essence realm without fully mastering the Inner Qi realm, it would definitely add numerous obstacles to his cultivation in the True Essence realm.
So, he would not take it!
Moreover, after gaining insights unique to himself through martial practice, it was indeed as if he was savoring aged wine.
The more he pondered, the more flavorful it became, the more addicting it was.
Throughout his martial practice, Yang Ge had gradually come to understand the insights and sceneries unique to each step and realm, as Shen Fa had described.
The world was so vast, he too wanted to see it from greater heights...
Thus, even though the True Essence realm was right before him, within easy reach,
he still wanted to wait, to persevere until he perfected his cultivation in the Inner Qi realm, before moving on to the True Essence realm.
Given the current situation, he still had time.
...
That’s how Yang Ge secluded himself at home.
He was oblivious to the world outside his windows, focusing only on practicing the strongest arts.
Aside from the Liu family father and son occasionally stopping by to chat and share family news, there were no other people or disturbances to interrupt him.
It was not until more than two months later, when Fang Ke knocked on the gate of his house...
That he learned the damned eunuch was still in Luting County!