Chapter 103: Attaining the Fifth Rank

In the courtyard.

The relationship between Huo Luoluo and Su Yang left Patriarch Wei and Wei Bing shocked and filled with confusion. How could the young lady of the Huo family from the Su residence be so close to the master of a minor family in Yanggu County?

Surely, last night was the first time they had met?

"Miss Luoluo, this old servant is here to take you home," Patriarch Wei said, adopting the demeanor of a subordinate and speaking with deep respect.

"Uncle Wei, I will not be returning. I intend to stay here for the time being," Huo Luoluo replied firmly.

Putting aside whether Su Yang would even allow her to leave, if she returned, how could she continue to learn the "Nine Spears of the Fire Dragon" now that its flaws had been mended? Staying here was undoubtedly the best choice.

"But what of your safety, Miss?"

"Uncle Wei, I am already a seventh-rank martial artist, and I will surely break into the sixth rank within three months. There is no need to worry about my safety. If there is nothing else, Uncle Wei should head back."

Seeing Huo Luoluo’s resolute attitude, Patriarch Wei dared not intervene. He could only comply with her wishes and settle for watching over her from the shadows. Before leaving, he asked, "Miss Luoluo, might I ask how my useless son met his end?"

"Wei Yan and the others were killed by the weasel demons. If I hadn’t used the life-saving measure my father gave me, I likely would have perished there as well. That sixth-rank weasel demon was simply too powerful."

Huo Luoluo concealed the information about the two sixth-rank weasel demons. As of now, apart from her and Chun Fu, no one in Yanggu County knew that Su Yang possessed sixth-rank strength; everyone assumed he was only a seventh-rank martial artist.

Patriarch Wei departed.

"Father, what is going on here? Should I send men to investigate in secret? How could Miss Luoluo be mixing with a minor family, and with such an ambiguous attitude?" Inside the carriage, Wei Bing asked, his face etched with anxiety.

"As servants, we must never harbor thoughts about the master’s daughter. Do you understand?" Patriarch Wei warned, a cold glint in his eyes.

Wei Bing bowed his head in silence.

"To rise in status and achieve great success—it is wonderful indeed! But it comes at a price, one that your talent and family background cannot afford. Do your duty as a servant, and do not concern yourself with anything Miss Luoluo does. Our job is simply to protect her."

Patriarch Wei possessed a clear understanding of his role. As the carriage rattled over the cobblestone street, Wei Bing suppressed his overstepping thoughts.

...

At the Su residence!

Su Yang left after demonstrating the "Three Spears of the Fire Dragon Tyrant" to Huo Luoluo once more. The two sixth-rank weasel demons had already been boiled, releasing a rich, savory aroma. Not wanting to waste them, he consumed one entirely and immediately attempted to control the vital energy within his body to temper his kidneys.

Once the kidneys were tempered to perfection, he would be considered a fifth-rank martial artist. The process was perilous; if he were too impatient for success, he risked suffering a cultivation deviation or causing permanent damage to his body.

The morning passed quickly. After digesting the first sixth-rank weasel demon, Su Yang proceeded to consume the second in the afternoon.

At night!

Having finished the second demon, he popped two Three-Vein Blood Pills into his mouth. By the following morning, he had fully absorbed the pills and the meat. His kidneys were tempered to a state of flawless, impenetrable resilience, though he was still a hair's breadth away from completion.

Five more days passed peacefully. Within the estate, several courtyards had been leveled to make room for greenery, fruit trees, rockeries, and bonsai—a rather ostentatious display for such troubled times.

Lately, Su Yang felt that entering the fifth rank was imminent. If he were to reveal his sixth-rank strength, such luxury would not seem excessive; it would merely be perceived as a penchant for worldly indulgence, which would actually lower others' vigilance toward him.

Moreover, besides himself, his concubine Bai Guanguan was also a sixth-rank martial artist, making them a top-tier family in Yanggu County. And then there was Huo Luoluo, who could effectively command the Wei family.

Name: Su Yang (Quasi-Immortal)
Incense Value: 1000
Realm: Sixth Rank
Cultivation Arts: [Incense Department+], [Qi Observation], [Heart-Control Insect+], [Root-Measuring Technique]
Secret Manuals: [Savage Bull Long Fist], [Three Spears of the Fire Dragon Tyrant]
Reference: [Holy Book of Gynecology]
Lifespan: 32+
Family Offspring: 5
Long-term Progress: The family is thriving. To ensure the healthy growth of your offspring and provide better care, please assign a maid to each pregnant wife. Each assignment grants 20 Incense points!
Family Progress: The family foundation is progressing smoothly, with a preliminary guard force established. However, it remains insufficient. Recruit 100 ninth-rank, 20 eighth-rank, and 5 seventh-rank martial arts guards to earn 1000 Incense points and the [Seventh-Rank Heart-Control Insect].

...

Su Yang opened his panel. The "+" sign had appeared next to the Incense Department, indicating he could use Incense to break directly into the fifth rank. However, he chose not to, intending instead to use the sixth-rank black-furred rat demon in his storeroom first to save on Incense.

He had been afraid to touch that corpse previously, fearing that Zhao Mangong would ask for its whereabouts when he came to collect the processed goods. But once he achieved the fifth rank, he could easily invent an excuse. At worst, he would pay a small price, and if Zhao continued to press the issue, his own fifth-rank strength combined with the Wei family’s fifth-rank patriarch would be enough to deter Zhao from turning hostile.

After all, if the rebels broke through the city walls, no one would benefit.

Zhao Mangong was a veteran fifth-rank who had risen through the fires of war, far stronger than an average fifth-rank. The safest choice was to deliver the batch of demon corpses to him, claiming the sixth-rank processing had failed while the seventh, eighth, and ninth ranks were standard. Failure in processing a sixth-rank demon was common enough that Zhao would not suspect him. He could then consume the sixth-rank corpse after returning.

Yet, sometimes people prefer to take risks to reach the fifth rank sooner!

There are many things in this world one should not do: widows having affairs, villains robbing the poor, officials accepting bribes, maids stealing from their masters! None of these should happen, yet they always do. Otherwise, the world would be a utopia, and the city would not be under siege by rebels.

Arriving at the storeroom and holding the sixth-rank black-furred rat demon, Su Yang hesitated.

"Huff...!"
"Damn it... better to play it safe...!"

Su Yang let out a long breath and pulled his gaze away from the sixth-rank corpse. He used his Incense to process a seventh-rank black-furred rat demon, along with a large number of eighth and ninth-rank ones, spending about 200 Incense points.

As for the new family progress goals, they were not difficult to achieve. In recent days, he had recruited several new guards, bringing his count of eighth-rank martial artists to ten, which completed the previous progress goal and earned him 500 Incense points. He had also recruited over fifty ninth-rank martial artists. He only needed forty more ninth-rank, ten eighth-rank, and two seventh-rank martial artists to finish the current goal. Huo Luoluo, Chun Fu, and the rebel assassin Black Lotus already accounted for three of the seventh-rank spots. Bai Guanguan, being a sixth-rank, did not count.

Finishing this progress was only a matter of time. The most important thing was the advanced version of the Heart-Control Insect he had been longing for. The [Seventh-Rank Heart-Control Insect] would surely be able to control the life and death of a seventh-rank martial artist and be highly effective against those of the sixth rank.

...

Su Yang led his servants to Zhao Mangong’s military camp with a cart of demon corpses. He found that the camp was largely empty; two-thirds of the soldiers were gone. Those remaining were mostly wounded. The entire camp was shrouded in a tragic, sorrowful atmosphere; no one knew how much longer they could hold out.

"General Zhao, the processed demon corpses are here," Su Yang said, entering the tent to find a haggard-looking Zhao Mangong.

"Master Su, you’ve been quite the talk of the town lately!" Zhao Mangong opened his eyes slowly, a hint of displeasure in his voice. He was likely referring to Su Yang’s lavish renovations. While he was holding the walls, someone behind him was indulging in luxury.

"General Zhao, how much longer can Yanggu County hold?" Su Yang asked.

"Master Su, what do you mean by that?" Zhao narrowed his eyes. If the man weren't still useful, he would have taught him a lesson.

"I have an immature suggestion, if the General is willing to hear it. It might alleviate your current predicament." Su Yang laid out the plan he had been crafting.

"What is it?"

"General, I have observed that your soldiers and the commoners cannot resist the rebels much longer. There is only one way to keep the city."

"Force the martial artists of the minor families to the front lines. This will face resistance, primarily from families with sixth-rank martial artists. So, simply stop recruiting from those families and target the ones below them instead."

"Any family without a sixth-rank martial artist must contribute their fighters to the defense. Do it in batches, like slicing meat with a small knife; by the time they think to resist, they will have no fighters left."

"Families with only ninth-rank or one or two eighth-rank martial artists should be conscripted directly into the army. And all the wandering martial artists scattered throughout the county should be recruited as well."

"Your own trusted soldiers can pull back from the walls to oversee the recruitment, leaving the fighting on the walls to the martial artists of the small families."

Zhao Mangong thought for a long time before replying, "I have considered this, but the risk of a rebellion among the small families is too high."

"Then issue a decree dividing the families of Yanggu County into Black-Plate and White-Plate families. The small families are White-Plate. If they dare to rebel, the Black-Plate families can annihilate them and seize seventy percent of their assets!"

"The city is about to fall, General. Why worry about such things? In troubled times, one must use heavy force!" Su Yang retorted.

"Heh... you are quite the ruthless one, kid." Zhao Mangong looked him up and down with surprise, then waved his hand. "Let the men outside take you to collect the demon corpses from the last few days to process them as well."

"Thank you, General."

Su Yang withdrew and followed the guards to the storeroom. He collected all the black-furred rat demons the defenders had hunted and brought them home.

Now, his warehouse held 150 ninth-rank corpses, 36 eighth-rank corpses, and 12 seventh-rank corpses!

This was not counting the rare medicinal herbs he had acquired. He was wealthy, a man of means in Yanggu County, but he needed to keep striving—it still wasn't enough to withstand the tides of the world. Once Zhao Mangong issued that decree, it would be the perfect opportunity for him to absorb ninth, eighth, and even seventh-rank martial artists. With Bai Guanguan to anchor his estate, he would be a Black-Plate family. Furthermore, he was about to enter the fifth rank; once he revealed his sixth-rank strength, he would be exempt from the hardships of conscription.

Back home, Su Yang immediately processed the sixth-rank black-furred rat demon, removed the toxins, and boiled it into a stew.

By the afternoon, he had fully absorbed the essence of the sixth-rank demon, and his kidneys were tempered to near perfection.

The rest was simple: he clicked the symbol after [Incense Department+]. A surge of warm energy flooded his body as the power of the Incense helped him break into the fifth rank, finally tempering his kidneys to completion.

Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the power of the Incense vanished. Su Yang could feel his kidneys were flawless and his vital energy was surging—he had successfully entered the fifth rank. Next was the fourth rank, which required tempering the liver.

Fifth rank! He was now a top-tier martial artist in Yanggu County. A sense of pride surged in Su Yang’s heart; from this day forward, the Su family would be as stable as Mount Tai.

Reaching the fifth rank had cost him 600 Incense points, and processing the demons had cost another 200. With 200 points remaining, he converted 100 into lifespan.

His remaining 32 days of life instantly became 1,032 days! Roughly two and a half years.

...

The next day, Zhao Mangong issued the military order: Conscription!

Suddenly, the ninth and eighth-rank martial artists in the city were scurrying about like headless flies. To be sent to the walls was a death sentence, and no one wanted to take the risk.

Fearing that Zhang Qingshi would be caught in the crossfire, Su Yang had brought her and her family to his residence early that morning. The estate was large enough to accommodate her, Zhang Ji, and her mother.

As for the maids and servants, he continued to use them as he always had, planning to purchase more from the human traffickers later.