In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

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The Gentle Breeze Sword Technique is the most gentle, while the Flying Snow Sword Technique cultivates frost-like sword energy, making them suitable for all of you to practice.

The Crescent Moon Sword Technique is swift and domineering, suitable for Piaoxu to practice; the Falling Flower Sword Technique focuses on sword techniques, and Rong'er and Master Mingchen can try practicing it first.

As for the fusion of four swords? It still requires the Grandmaster realm to cultivate!

Hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's suggestion, the women breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he also subtly revealed his excitement.

"As for Qinglu, your foundation is still shallow. When I was in Lingjiu Palace, I dismantled the sword technique and transformed it into a Four Symbols Sword Technique (bjca), which can serve as the foundation for these four sword techniques."

"Thank you husband!"

Li Qinglu naturally knew that her foundation was the weakest, and she wasn't even a top expert yet.

The Seven-Leaf Snow Orchid can dramatically increase one's cultivation level over sixty years, which is intended for her to break through to a higher realm.

Even so, the foundation cannot be restored in a short period of time.

"We are husband and wife, we are one, it doesn't matter."

As for the Western Xia, I only heard about it after I left the pass. From now on, this will be your only home.

"Furthermore, I recently visited Jiangnan and saw your father there. He and your grandmother were recuperating at Mantuo Villa. Because of past grievances, I did not show myself to meet them!"

"Is Father still alive?"

Li Qinglu looked at Zhang Xiaoshan in disbelief. According to the post-war intelligence from Western Xia, the King of Western Xia had hanged himself.

“Your grandmother was a peerless master, how could she watch your father cut off all ties with Western Xia?”

I think the reason I didn't notify you was to protect myself from the Zhang family.

The same was true of the Murong family of Taihu Lake; descendants of the Xianbei of the Great Yan, they settled in Jiangnan after the fall of their kingdom and the destruction of their family, and later fled to the Yipintang of Western Xia!

"Great!"

Upon hearing the news that the King of Western Xia was not dead, even Li Qinglu was excited.

Although her country was destroyed and her family perished, at least her closest relatives were safe, which was the best news for Li Qinglu.

"Sister Qinglu, you should be relieved now. I said that Senior Li is at least a peerless master. As long as he doesn't lose his power, he won't die easily."

"Alright, let's go inside. This isn't the place to talk!"

Upon entering the hall, everyone saw the many local specialties that Zhang Xiaoshan had brought.

Snow lotus, thousand-year-old snake gall, snake skin, venom sac...

Everyone was shocked to see just how much Zhang Xiaoshan had swept up.

Moreover, how many treasures were there in Tianshan that Zhang Xiaoshan managed to sweep up so many in one trip?

"Don't be surprised, that girl Azi has a treasure in her possession—the Divine Wood King Cauldron!"

In dangerous and secluded places, burning incense will attract poisonous insects, and the distribution of these insects will reveal the location of the treasure.

After all, treasures are always guarded by extremely poisonous substances.

If a highly poisonous substance appears, there's a 90% chance there's treasure nearby.

Hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's reverse reasoning, even Huang Rong's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected that the little girl on Mount Tianshan would have such a treasure.

"By the way, are there any fun places to visit in the Tianshan Mountains?"

"Fun places? There aren't any fun places, just snow-capped mountains."

Even Tianchi Lake isn't as beautiful as you might imagine, but it does offer a fun sport—extreme skiing!

"Extreme skiing? What's so fun about that?"

Huang Rong shook her head. Skiing is not uncommon in the north.

However, unlike skiing in later generations, it was just a way of traveling on snow and a means of reducing resistance.

Just like the sleds that Zhang Xiaoshan made back then, they were not the same as the skiing sport he described.

It's just skiing.

"Listen to me, skiing is not like you're thinking of a skateboard or a cow-drawn cart."

Instead, it involves sliding downhill, or even leaping off steep mountain peaks hundreds of feet high—that's what I call extreme skiing.

"Are you asking for it?!"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiaoshan say that he was going to jump off the steep mountain peak, even Huang Rong's expression changed slightly.

"So you've never done this before. This isn't suicide, it's skiing!"

This December, I'll take you to a snow-capped mountain for extreme skiing, gliding straight down from the towering peaks to the plateau below.

Zhang Xiaoshan knew Huang Rong's personality; only such extremely adventurous and exciting sports could bring her surprises and joy.

For a moment, Huang Rong's beautiful eyes sparkled with anticipation.

After all, even Zhang Xiaoshan was certain that she would like the sport, so it must be at least not bad.

"Jiangxue, Hongxiao, get ready. I'm going to take a hot bath first."

"Afterwards, I will inscribe the Four Sword Techniques in a secret room. Anyone who wants to see it tonight may do so."

"Please wait a moment, young master!"

Chapter 519 Zhang Yuan Breaks Through to the Eighth Cauldron Realm

The next morning, Zhang Xiaoshan, supported by the wall, went to the Yingbin Building.

He told Zhang Yuan about what he had gained from the trip and gave him the gift he had brought for the little guy—a snow eagle chick.

This is a rare Tianshan snow eagle, and its size is not like that of a gyrfalcon, which is only about three feet long.

The Tianshan snow eagle is a huge bird of prey, with the largest reaching seven or eight feet in height and a wingspan of over three zhang (approximately 10 meters), making it the absolute ruler of the sky.

Moreover, after being nurtured by Zhang Xiaoshan's true qi, even a pig would revert to its ancestral state at this point.

Therefore, he was overjoyed to see the fledgling eagle.

As for Zhang Yuan, knowing that Zhang Xiaoshan was going to break through to a higher level, and even create a new sword technique, he didn't say anything.

He knew that Zhang Xiaoshan's strength was the true pillar of the Zhang family!

"Father, this is a thousand-year-old snake gall."

At your current level, you should be close to breaking through the bottleneck of the Eight Cauldrons realm.

Chaos has arrived. The Later Zhou Empire has already attacked the Song Dynasty, and its next target should be the Wu Tang Dynasty.

After reaching the Eight Cauldrons Realm, Father will at least have the ability to protect himself!

Over the course of ten years, and with the addition of numerous resources, Zhang Yuan, who appeared simple and chubby, had actually reached an unparalleled level of martial arts skill.

After all, Zhang Yuan's years of taking supplements haven't been for nothing.

Even the Nine Cauldrons Divine Skill had already reached the peak of the Seven Cauldrons level. Zhang Xiaoshan took out the Thousand-Year Snake Gallbladder this time so that Zhang Yuan could break through.

As for the thousand-year-old snake gallbladder brought from Kunshan, it was the gallbladder of a two-headed snake, which has extremely high medicinal value, but it is not a treasure for enhancing one's abilities.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan was worried about the radiation effects of those hydras and two-headed snakes.

Just like the monstrous dragon within Ping Mountain, Zhang Xiaoshan dared to eat it because his body was completely immune to such things.

However, Zhang Yuan is different; he is a mortal and could encounter problems at any time.

"The Later Zhou Empire's next target is the Wu Tang? How do you know that?"

Having already broken through to the Nine Cauldrons Realm, Zhang Xiaoshan had no reason to refuse the thousand-year-old snake gall.

However, what Zhang Yuan was really concerned about was how Zhang Xiaoshan knew about the Later Zhou Empire's plans.

"The Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty is guarding the nation's borders; we cannot touch him for the time being."

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was already beset by internal and external troubles, and apart from the Nine Garrisons, it simply couldn't spare many elite troops from other places.

The situation was different with the Wu Tang dynasty. Everyone understands the principle of mutual dependence.

If the Later Zhou Empire were to attack the Ming Dynasty first, the Wu Tang Dynasty would inevitably ally with the Ming Dynasty to deal with the Later Zhou Empire.

Hiss...

Even Zhang Yuan couldn't help but gasp upon hearing this.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaoshan saw things so clearly that even Zen Master Juexin couldn't help but bow his head and chant Buddhist prayers, praying for the souls of those who perished in the war.

"Shan'er, what do you think about this?"

A great ruler!

If the prophecy is true, I am even more optimistic about Qin Shi Huang!

However, the Zhang family is a merchant family, and these things are none of our business. Why should Father worry about them?

The reason I moved here back then was because Shen Du was the capital of the Wu Tang Dynasty. Even if the two armies clashed and thousands of troops fought, the Zhang family would not be involved.

Hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's indifference, Zhang Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

Clearly, Zhang Xiaoshan had a high opinion of Qin Huangzheng; otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken in such a tone.

But as Zhang Xiaoshan said, what do these things have to do with them?

The Zhang family doesn't get involved in these things; this is common knowledge throughout the land.

Even in the Wu Tang Empire, the Zhang family paid more than 500,000 gold coins in taxes every year, much of which came from businesses on Ghost Street.

But the Zhang family still paid, which was considered a fair exchange with the Wu Tang Empire.

It's worth noting that the Zhang family's tax revenue alone exceeded that of the ten great families of the Wu Tang Empire, as these families were known for tax evasion.

"Then Your Highness?"

"Her identity as the Queen Mother of the West in Ghost Street is enough to save her life, not to mention that she is now a Grandmaster."

"No army in the world can hold back a Grandmaster, not even the Shadow Guard or the Net of the Later Zhou Empire, let alone this place which is only a hundred miles away from Ghost Street!"

Zhang Yuan nodded upon hearing this.

Indeed, if a Grandmaster wants to leave, no force can stop him, especially in the capital city.

With the existence of Ghost Street, Zhang Xiaoshan had no reason to worry about Princess Taiping's safety.

Besides, if the Zhang family really needs to step in, Zhang Xiaoshan still has that much influence.

"Alright, Father, let me help you break through to the Eighth Cauldron Realm first."

"Alright!"

The Eight Tripods Realm is an indestructible realm.

With his bulky body providing defense, even a grandmaster might not be able to break through his defenses in a short time.

This is also Zhang Yuan's advantage. Everyone's martial arts training has different effects. Zhang Yuan is a businessman, and his kind mindset, coupled with his usual focus on mental cultivation and medicinal baths, and lack of muscle training, has led to his current appearance.

However, this also means that the defense formed by these fats is objective.

To break through to the Eight Trigrams Realm, besides the gall of a thousand-year-old snake, Zhang Xiaoshan also had someone prepare a complete tonic soup made from thousand-year-old ginseng, a Shaolin Great Rejuvenating Pill, and Hua Tuo's Heart-Protecting Pills...

On the morning of the third day, Zhang Yuan announced that he had something to discuss with Zhang Xiaoshan and would temporarily hand over all business to Manager Feng.

No one was surprised by this.

It's perfectly normal for the Zhang family to have some secrets, especially since Manager Feng has been officially given a title and is now the head of the Zhang family.

As for Zhang Yuan's martial arts skills, that was something no one expected.

Zhang Yuan, who weighs at least three or four hundred pounds, always has a kind and gentle demeanor towards everyone. Who would have thought that Zhang Yuan would possess such formidable martial arts skills?

Moreover, according to the information they had gathered before, Zhang Yuan did not know martial arts.

The Zhang family are merchants, not martial arts families. Even Zhang Xiaoshan started with external martial arts training and by chance learned the Taoist Pure Yang Wuji Gong, which made him famous throughout the land.

Most martial arts skills are built from a young age, and Zhang Yuan had long missed the opportunity to develop that foundation.

However, the Nine Cauldrons Divine Skill is a unique martial art for physical training. The breathing techniques and medicinal baths, without the foundation built from childhood, resulted in a body full of fat.

It was only after Juexin and Zen Master Xianxia assured Zhang Yuan that he was fine that Zhang Yuan's concerns about going astray were dispelled.

Inside the secret room.