Shi Jin, who was practicing martial arts nearby, couldn't sit still when he heard that bandits had come to spy on him. He had been training with Wang Xuan for a month and his strength had greatly improved. He was looking for someone to test his skills against, and now the bandits had delivered themselves to his doorstep.
If he can't beat his own master, does that mean he can't even beat mere mountain bandits?
"Erniu, go tell my father to gather all the able-bodied men in the village. I'm going to confront those bandits!" Shi Jin instructed Shi Erniu, then turned to look expectantly at Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan did not stop his own apprentice from getting into a fight; he had the same idea.
It should be noted that the three bandit leaders of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold were all members of the 108 heroes of Liangshan, each possessing their own unique destiny. In Wang Xuan's eyes, this was undoubtedly a tempting target.
"Alright, let's, master and disciple, march on Shaohua Mountain stronghold!"
Upon seeing that Wang Xuan had agreed, Shi Jin became even more excited.
During this time, Old Master Shi came to dissuade them, believing that they should stay in the village, defend their position, and not impulsively attack Shaohua Mountain. After all, the defending side always has the advantage.
Shi Jin was eager to fight and confident in his martial arts skills. Moreover, he had his master, a great master, by his side to support him. How could he be so cowardly as to cower in the village?
Even Old Master Shi couldn't persuade him. In the end, Shi Jin gathered two or three hundred able-bodied men from the village, picked up his dragon-patterned staff, and headed menacingly towards Shaohua Mountain.
After walking for about half an hour, Wang Xuan saw a stockade built halfway up the mountain. Its terrain was quite precipitous, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the imperial court were to send a large army to attack, even if it were only a few thousand men, the enemy could hold out for ten days to half a month.
“This stronghold is easy to defend and difficult to attack. With only two or three hundred villagers under your command, you simply cannot take it by force.” Wang Xuan watched the show from the sidelines, showing no intention of making a move.
Shi Jin knew that a direct assault was simply not going to work. After all, the bandits in this stronghold numbered around seven hundred, and they were all desperate criminals who had lived on the edge of death, far stronger than the villagers of Shi Family Village.
Left with no other option, Shi Jin ordered the villagers to hurl insults at the mountain stronghold.
Wang Xuan and Shi Jin led a large group of men and stormed into the gates with great momentum. The three leaders of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold had naturally received the news long ago.
On the walls of the mountain stronghold, a middle-aged man dressed in Taoist robes and wearing a cloud-patterned crown pointed at Wang Xuan and Shi Jin, saying to two others beside him, "This Shi Jin is exceptionally skilled in martial arts, known in the martial arts world as the Nine-Tattooed Dragon. I never expected him to be such a reckless fool. They outnumber us, and most of them are untrained peasants. If they had held out in Shi Family Village, it would have been difficult for us to break through. But now they've delivered themselves to our doorstep. They're truly courting death!"
This man was Zhu Wu, the chief leader of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold, who would later become the head of the 72 Earthly Fiends of Liangshan and the Divine Strategist Zhu Wu!
Beside Zhu Wu stood two men, one wielding a white-spotted steel spear, the other a large polearm. The one with the spear was named Chen Da, nicknamed "Leaping Tiger"; the one with the polearm was called Yang Chun, known as "White Flower Snake."
Even though the strategist Zhu Wu was extremely shrewd, he didn't take Wang Xuan and Shi Jin seriously, since their village had two or three times the number of the enemy's men.
After Shi Jin and his men cursed for a while, the gate of the stronghold finally opened. Chen Da, the Leaping Tiger, and Yang Chun, the White Flower Snake, each led two hundred henchmen to flank from the left and right.
Chapter Eleven: Taking on Three More Disciples
Seeing that the bandits had come out in full force, the able-bodied men of Shijiazhuang panicked. They were all in a panic, and some even turned around and tried to run away.
"Everyone, follow me to fight! If anyone dares to run away, I, Shi Jin, the Nine-Tattooed Dragon, will not let him go!" Shi Jin roared, sweeping his dragon-patterned staff across the ground. Instantly, he smashed down five or six young men who were trying to escape, stopping their rout. They had no choice but to fight alongside Shi Jin.
The two groups of bandits came to surround the Shi family's group, but stopped abruptly when they were only a few dozen meters away.
Shi Jin looked around and saw Chen Da wearing a red turban, gold-plated iron armor, and a red robe. He was riding a tall white horse and holding a steel spear.
"Shi Jin, a month ago, a group of men from our Shaohua Mountain stronghold were killed halfway up the mountain. After searching extensively, we found that it was related to your Shi Family Village!" Chen Da pointed his steel spear at Shi Jin and sneered, "We three brothers were just preparing to take down your village to avenge our fallen brothers, but you delivered yourself to our doorstep, saving us a lot of trouble."
Shi Jin shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting! You've committed murder, arson, robbery, and other heinous crimes; you all deserve to die! Even if I did kill your people, they deserved it!"
Enraged by this, Chen Da spurred his horse forward, brandishing his spear, and charged towards Shi Jin.
Bang!
The dragon-patterned staff and the eighteen-foot steel spear collided with a crisp sound. Shi Jin swayed slightly on his horse, but was unharmed.
Chen Da, however, felt a sharp pain in his tiger's mouth and almost lost his grip on the steel spear.
"This guy has incredible strength!" Chen Da thought to himself in surprise.
Wang Xuan stood quietly to the side and watched the battle. After only a few rounds, he saw through Chen Da's true strength and weakness.
The opponent was also quite strong, with a force of about 400 jin (approximately 200 kg). If this were on Earth in my previous life, he might have broken the world record for weightlifting, which shows his extraordinary martial arts skills.
If he were to encounter the original Shi Jin, Chen Da, though unable to defeat him, could still last for seventy or eighty rounds.
However, Shi Jin's martial arts skills have improved by leaps and bounds. He has not only developed internal strength, but his speed has also increased significantly. Chen Da will probably be defeated soon.
Just as Wang Xuan had predicted, Shi Jin dominated Chen Da from beginning to end, and after only seven or eight rounds, he ruthlessly brought his staff down on Chen Da's head.
Chen Da hurriedly raised his spear to defend, but unexpectedly, Shi Jin quickly changed the direction of his dragon-patterned staff, turning the smash into a thrust, and stabbed Chen Da in the chest, knocking him off his horse.
Seeing his brother easily defeated, Yang Chun, the third leader of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold, was shocked and immediately spurred his horse forward to snatch Chen Da back.
Even the strategist Zhu Wu couldn't sit still any longer. He quickly sent out a signal, and immediately hundreds of his henchmen rushed forward.
Although Shi Jin is powerful, he is still no match for many people. With his current martial arts skills, he cannot take on hundreds of people by himself.
This is where the usefulness of the able-bodied men from Shijiazhuang became apparent. Although they were of average skill, they were able to hold off the small fry from Shaohua Mountain stronghold for a while. Only a dozen or so men were actually able to come and besiege Shi Jin.
Shi Jin wielded his dragon-patterned staff, impervious to water. Wherever the staff swept, bandits fell in droves; truly, a mere graze caused injury, and a direct hit meant certain death.
In his rage, he abandoned the henchmen entangled around him, pushed through the crowd, and rushed toward Yang Chun, who was rescuing Chen Da.
Yang Chun's skills were inferior to Chen Dalai's, so how could he be a match for Shi Jin? With just two or three blows, Yang Chun was also knocked down by Shi Jin.
Two of the three leaders of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold were captured by Shi Jin in just a short while, and the strategist Zhu Wu was so frightened that he turned pale.
"Oh no! I never expected Shi Jin, the Nine-Tattooed Dragon, to be so skilled in martial arts. Although people in the underworld say he is quite strong, they don't think he's this powerful! We're doomed this time!"
Before Shi Jin could even charge into the mountain stronghold, Zhu Wu sounded the retreat and shouted, "Hero, stop! I, Zhu Wu, am willing to surrender with the entire stronghold, only asking that you spare the lives of my two brothers!"
Having had his fill of fighting, Shi Jin was naturally delighted that his opponent was willing to surrender without a fight.
So the farmers of Shijiazhuang entered Shaohua Mountain stronghold openly, confiscated the weapons of all the former bandits, and imprisoned them.
Zhu Wu and the other two had their hands bound and were brought before Wang Xuan and Shi Jin.
When Zhu Wu and the others got closer, they saw that the incomparably brave Shi Jin was standing behind a young master, looking quite obedient.
Upon witnessing this scene, they were all secretly shocked. They knew that Shi Jin was incredibly brave, like a reincarnation of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu. For this young master to make Shi Jin obediently submit, his identity was definitely not simple!
What they didn't know was that Shi Jin behaved so obediently around Wang Xuan because he was terrified of Wang Xuan...
"You've seen my master, why aren't you coming over to pay your respects!" Shi Jin's muffled shout immediately brought Zhu Wu and the other two back to their senses.
"What?! This young master is actually Shi Jin's master?!" Zhu Wu and the other two were so shocked that their mouths were agape, wide enough to fit several eggs.
Could we have misheard? With Shi Jin's martial arts skills, why would he take a young master as his teacher? Could it be that Shi Jin wants to abandon martial arts and pursue literature, so he has taken a scholar as his teacher?
Wang Xuan and the others took in their reactions, and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
It seems only fists can convince them. Even if I talk a good game, they will still be skeptical. Why bother wasting my breath?
He immediately ordered his men to untie Zhu Wu and the other two, and then Wang Xuan walked over, waving his fist.
"Awooo!" "Ah!" "Stop hitting us, we give up!"
All that could be heard were the wails and howls of ghosts, and the scene was extremely tragic.
Upon witnessing this scene, Shi Jin couldn't help but shudder, a hint of sympathy and pity appearing in his eyes.
"Junior brothers, you'd better pray for yourselves!"
Before coming to Shaohua Mountain Stronghold, Wang Xuan was worried that Shi Jin might accidentally kill Zhu Wu and the others if he used too much force, so he told Shi Jin about his idea of taking Zhu Wu and the others as his disciples.
Although Shi Jin was surprised, he wholeheartedly agreed—he was overjoyed to have more junior brothers to share in his master's "iron fist of love."
As the saying goes, "spare the rod and spoil the child," and after Wang Xuan unleashed his "iron fist of love," Zhu Wu, Chen Da, Yang Chun, and others finally realized their mistake, obediently knelt down, kowtowed nine times, and became Wang Xuan's disciples.
When the master-disciple relationship was established, Wang Xuan's smile grew even wider, indicating that a large amount of luck points were about to be gained.
When Wang Xuan established his master-disciple relationship with Shi Jin, he received 100 points of luck. Later, as Wang Xuan continued to teach Shi Jin, he received another 100 points of luck. In other words, Wang Xuan harvested a total of 200 points of luck from Shi Jin.
Zhu Wu and the other two will not be as prominent as Shi Jin in Liangshan, and their luck will not be as good as Shi Jin's, but they have the advantage of having more people.
By merely establishing a master-disciple relationship with these three individuals, Wang Xuan gained 180 points of luck!
Chapter Twelve: Instructor Wang Arrives
When Wang Xuan chose to travel through time, he only had 137 points of luck, and he even spent 100 points to travel through time.
As he spread his teachings in this world, he has accumulated 380 points of luck, and the information recorded on the Eternal Tower of Heaven and Earth has changed.
Name: Wang Xuan
Permissions: Level 1
Cultivation level: Fifth level of the Acquired Realm
Luck: 417 (1 for ordinary people)
Cultivation Method: *Ziyang Zhenjie*
Unlocked abilities: Time travel, Enlightenment
Existing world coordinates: Mythical Three Kingdoms World, Water Margin World
"Although the harvest is very gratifying, to upgrade the authority of the Eternal Tower of Heaven and Earth to level two, it is necessary to consume 10,000 points of luck value. My harvest is far from enough!" Wang Xuan was not arrogant because of this harvest, but had a clear understanding.
Now that Zhu Wu and the other two have been accepted as disciples, the trip to Shaohua Mountain Stronghold has come to a successful conclusion.
Although Zhu Wu and his group were mountain bandits, they were still quite decent people. Now that they had become Wang Xuan's disciples, they would never go back on their word again, and Wang Xuan was confident in that.
Wang Xuan then instructed Shi Jin to release the bandits, leaving Zhu Wu to handle the aftermath. He himself, along with Shi Jin, Chen Da, and Yang Chun, headed back to Shi Family Village.
When Old Master Shi heard that they had captured Shaohua Mountain Stronghold, he was both happy and worried.
Naturally, I was happy that my son had returned safely, without any serious injury or death.
What is worrying is that the Shi family has become involved with the bandits of Shaohua Mountain Village.
Normally, they live in peace and even look out for each other. But if someone reports them to the authorities, it will be a terrible disaster!
After being reminded by Old Master Shi, Wang Xuan immediately became alert and instructed Shi Jin to tell the able-bodied men of Shi Family Village to keep what happened today a secret and not to tell anyone.
The bandits of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold were actually easier to manage. Zhu Wu turned the stronghold into something like a military camp. The bandits usually stayed in the stronghold and were not allowed to wander off. They could only leave when they went down the mountain to rob.
After everything was arranged, Wang Xuan resumed his life of practicing martial arts and teaching his apprentices.
Wang Xuan possessed immense medicinal power, making his cultivation seem almost like he had a cheat code. In just over half a month, he broke through the fifth level of the Acquired Realm and reached the sixth level.
Under Wang Xuan's tutelage, Shi Jin, Zhu Wu, and the others cultivated the "Ziyang True Explanation," and their strength improved every day.
However, the spiritual energy in this world is scarce, so Shi Jin and his companions have to consume a large amount of medicinal herbs for medicinal baths and medicinal meals every day in order to cultivate the "Purple Sun True Explanation".
Silver is flowing out in huge wads; at this rate, even the combined wealth of the Shi family and Shaohua Mountain stronghold will only last for a year.