Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 32 How Did I Reach the Grandmaster Realm?
With that exaggerated crack in the ground, Xu Ying quickly and smoothly made a name for himself in the branch office.

Actually, it wasn't too smooth.

For example, he and Chang Ping'an were detained in the branch office, and two men in black robes went to invite Zhang Chengdao to come and give his fingerprints to get them out, and to pay for the repairs of the ground.

In fact, Xu Ying did not expect that just by letting Chang Ping'an show his skills, he would break into Chang Ping'an's territory!

The two men were detained in the branch office, looking at each other in bewilderment, but the two guards in black robes who were watching them were also trembling with fear.

This guy can split the ground with a single sword strike. If he gets angry and chops the two brothers up, that would be such a waste!
When Zhang Chengdao arrived at the branch office, he was met with a scene of utter silence, which left him quite helpless.

When the black-clad official sent by the Division of Administration came to his door, he had just broken through to the eighth level of Qi Refining. Zhang Chengdao had no idea what the eighth level of Qi Refining was roughly equivalent to in martial arts.

But at least it shouldn't be some kind of "Grandmaster Realm" that's a disaster... no, a disaster for the master!
Zhang Chengdao frowned deeply and asked, "How is the Grandmaster realm assessed?"

The one who answered was the sub-commissioner of the Military Affairs Division of Feihu County. His eyes unconsciously swept over Zhang Chengdao's white hair, and while wiping his sweat, he answered awkwardly, "This...this needs to be reported to higher authorities, and then, then we'll ask our Military Affairs Commissioner to make a decision...it'll probably be the Military Affairs Commissioner himself who will come to participate in the evaluation..."

Zhang Chengdao nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. How could he have reached the Grandmaster realm?!
He had already learned from Xu Ying that the so-called ranking was mostly just a matter of fighting each other or testing one's true energy.

Normally, everyone would only stop short of a fight, but since Zhang Chengdao didn't have any true qi, they had no choice but to try a real fight.

The problem is... a Grandmaster rating... does that mean he has to fight a Grandmaster?!
Can someone at the eighth level of Qi Refining really defeat a Grandmaster?

Zhang Chengdao had absolutely no confidence!

"What rank is your Martial Arts Envoy?"

Zhang Chengdao couldn't help but press for more information.

"This...this, our Martial Arts Envoy is one of the four second-rank Grandmasters of the Great Xiao Kingdom, which is...already the highest rank besides that first-rank Grandmaster, the late Emperor's tutor...you, are you really also a Grandmaster?"

Even at this point, the governor still couldn't believe that a "Grandmaster" had suddenly appeared in the area under his jurisdiction.

That's a "Grandmaster"!
He's a legendary figure!
"How can I explain this to you..." Zhang Chengdao didn't know how to explain it for a moment. He thought for a moment and said, "I don't understand martial arts, nor do I have true qi. Even if I did, it would be spiritual qi, because the path I cultivate is the path of immortality."

It would have been better if he hadn't explained at all. But after this explanation, the governor slapped his thigh and his tongue became much smoother. He exclaimed in surprise, "So the 'White Stone Immortal' that everyone in the county talks about is you!"

Zhang Chengdao didn't understand and looked confused: "What 'White Stone Immortal'?"

"Legend has it that there is a White Stone Immortal on White Stone Mountain who can turn stones into gold, summon wind and rain, and bestow upon mortals a kind of 'immortal wheat' that can make them young again, immune to all poisons, and even grant them immortality!"

The speaker was a minor clerk standing to the side. Although he also looked fearful, he spoke with great enthusiasm.

As he spoke, he lowered his voice further, speaking in a tone that suggested he knew the inside story: "I heard that the old master of the Sword Forging Manor broke through to the Grandmaster realm by eating that kind of 'immortal wheat,' making him the fourth Grandmaster in our Great Xiao Kingdom! In that case, our Great Xiao Kingdom has one more Grandmaster than the Chu Kingdom to the south!"

Hearing these increasingly outrageous rumors that had been passed around countless times, Zhang Chengdao was both amused and exasperated. He explained, "Among the cultivators on White Stone Mountain, besides my disciple, there's probably only me. But I'm not some 'White Stone Immortal,' just an ordinary cultivator!"

"No wonder! So you really are the legendary 'White Stone Immortal'!"

The clerk ignored Zhang Chengdao's "clarification," and excitedly tried to kneel down, pleading, "Could you please reward me with some 'immortal wheat'? Even just one grain would be enough!" "Absolutely not!"

Zhang Chengdao was startled and immediately used his spiritual power to support the other party. Just as he was feeling awkward and unsure of what to say, he heard the regional commander cough heavily a few times: "Cough cough cough cough! How can a dignified clerk of the regional command be so humble!"

After criticizing his subordinates, he added sheepishly, "Well, Immortal White Stone, could you sell me some Immortal Wheat? Just a small handful will do!"

Upon hearing this, the clerk nodded vigorously, echoing, "Yes, yes, yes! Selling is fine! Selling is fine!"

Zhang Chengdao said helplessly, "Whenever we have spirit wheat, we send it to Huiyou Escort Agency to sell. Why don't you go and buy some from Huiyou Escort Agency?"

The clerk's face flushed red, and he replied with some indignation, "Immortal Baishi, you may not know this, but the spirit wheat that Huiyou Escort Agency sells is all bought up by the Sword Casting Manor at ten times the price! How can people like us possibly compete with those people from the Sword Casting Manor!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengdao narrowed his eyes: "Oh? Monopoly..."

The regional governor nodded and said, "That's right, the money we can offer is really limited! But I clearly heard that the price offered by Immortal White Stone is not high! I'm so frustrated!"

Zhang Chengdao sneered: "Don't worry, in a few days, spirit wheat will be worthless. If you really want to buy it, it's not too late."

Although his hundred-odd plots of farmland look small, they are more than enough to feed hundreds of people. Not to mention that the growth cycle of spirit wheat is only 3 days—every 3 days will produce enough food to feed thousands of people. Over time, spirit wheat will naturally become less and less valuable.

If the seeds of Lingmai could be grown by farmers outside, then Lingmai might even be able to enter the homes of ordinary people!

Although Zhang Chengdao said this, the crowd still did not believe him, but dared not say anything more because of the power and prestige of Zhang Chengdao's name.

Zhang Chengdao was happy to play dumb, and simply pointed to the huge crack in the ground, asking, "I heard that our White Stone Immortal Sect has to pay for its repair. I wonder how much silver it will cost?"

"This, this...this is unnecessary!"

The governor gritted his teeth slightly and said, "It's just a small matter, how could I trouble you? I'll take the money and fix it myself!"

The envoy had intended to do Zhang Chengdao a favor, but Zhang Chengdao didn't want to owe anyone a favor. He stared at the crack for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Your repairs are just restoring it to its original state, aren't they?"

The governor nodded: "Almost. It's impossible to repair it to its original state, but it will prevent people from falling in!"

The crack wasn't actually that big, no more than two fists wide, so it was absolutely impossible for someone to "fall into it."

and……

For some reason, Zhang Chengdao had a feeling that he could use his spiritual power to "heal" the crack...

I've been busy with housework and traveling these past few days, so my update schedule has been a bit irregular...

But this book is too important to me, I promise to update 3 chapters every day! Pow!

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(End of this chapter)