Across the web, immortals and true beings, their thoughts and energy creating the heavens.

Chapter 102 Overcoming One Challenge After Another, an Unintentional Skill Becomes a Masterpiece

"Reporting back to Master Lin, I have investigated thoroughly. There is no human habitation or livestock within a ten-mile radius. All houses have been burned to the ground, leaving only scorched earth."

"I have come to inform Master Lin that the water source ahead is clogged with dead cows and sheep, teeming with flies and insects, and reeks of rot. This water is absolutely undrinkable!"

"These demonic cultists are trying to implement a scorched-earth policy, intending to drag our righteous army to its death on this snowy plateau!"

"Master Lin, I have carefully counted our supplies, and we only have enough for three more days. Shouldn't we order everyone to conserve food?"

"Great hero, many of the soldiers are seriously wounded and sick, and they urgently need medicine. They also cannot withstand the arduous journey. Shouldn't we leave them here to recuperate?"

"Last night, a group of Tibetan monks attacked the camp. Although Lin Juxia killed most of them with his palm strike from a distance, and the rest fled in terror, it still caused quite a commotion. The stockpiled wool, hay, and hides were all ignited by the fire, resulting in significant losses. Dozens of people were trampled and injured in the camp, but fortunately no one died."

There's a ton of similar military intelligence every day, and Lin Zhuo needs to make decisions about it.

Before achieving great things, there are often countless trivialities. It's not about making a big splash every day, but rather a steady stream of worries and anxieties.

The team led by Lin Zhuo was mainly composed of liberated serfs and lower-middle-class poor people. They were all thoroughly poor, without houses, land, or livestock. Because of their special status as liberated people, they were not accepted by the mainstream society of the Western remote region and therefore could not reintegrate into the local community.

Once Lin Zhuo abandons them, the group, who have no ability to withstand risks, will be ostracized and left to wander outside. They will then be retaliated against and slaughtered by the returning Tibetan monks and demonic sects, and the result will surely be that only one in ten will survive.

So no matter how difficult the situation was, Lin Zhuo insisted on bringing all the people along. With so many people, it was like a dough ball, and tigers, leopards, wolves and jackals all wanted to take a bite, making it even more difficult to protect them.

The highest official position he had ever held was a squad leader in a university military unit, where managing a dozen or so people was already a challenge, let alone tens of thousands of people like today. And these were all uneducated, powerless, and in poor health low-class slaves.

If it weren't for the many chivalrous warriors from the Central Plains who were willing to follow his orders, relay them, and manage the troops, doing the dirty and tiring work, Lin Zhuo would have had a hard time keeping this large and disorganized force functioning normally and preventing serious non-combat casualties.

In terms of willpower, these rescued people were not lacking. Even when they were starving, they were willing to follow Lin Zhuo on foot. Most of them were not afraid of death because they believed that after death they would be taken to the Pure Land by the three Bodhisattvas to enjoy happiness. Those who had been slaves knew how to obey and always did what they were told. Although they might not be able to complete tasks well, they were willing to be determined and exert all their strength.

Lin Zhuo, however, wanted them to live, to live on, so that they could witness firsthand how their Golden Pearl Mami shattered the sacred palace that had stood in the snowy region for thousands of years, how they burned and destroyed all the pavilions and Buddha statues, and how they slaughtered countless people, using the heads of these demonic monks and evil spirits to sacrifice to the ancestors of the local people.

At first, the team was short of food and supplies. The people needed warm clothes and tents for camping. Fortunately, the nobleman Qiang Liang, who had been killed by Lin Zhuo, had stockpiled food and furs, as well as many gold and silver utensils. They looted everything, leaving some for the local people and taking the rest with them.

Later, the demonic sect launched several strong attacks, but Lin Zhuo annihilated them all, so the monks began to fortify their defenses and establish a scorched-earth policy.

The rebel army could no longer find a single grain of barley or a single head of cattle or sheep along their route. The local powerful families took away all the people, livestock, and slaves they could carry. Those who could not leave were killed, their bodies smeared with poison and excrement, and thrown into the water source.

All the Tibetan monks from the monasteries of the entire snowy region, and the armies of all the powerful families in the major cities, gathered toward the holy mountain at the command of the Dharma King. They were preparing for a large-scale battle, but the military objective was not to annihilate this massive rebel army, but merely to kill a warrior.

Before the decisive battle, the rebel army faced only small-scale harassment. The members of the demonic cult wanted to wear down Lin Zhuo's physical and mental condition as much as possible, making him exhausted.

On many nights, Lin Zhuo would erect a long stake in the center of the camp, like a large flag. He would stand on top of the flagpole, and the wooden stake, which was originally swaying in the wind, would become as stable as a tower because of his presence.

He stood atop the flagpole with his hands behind his back, surveying the surroundings. He could see every rustle of wind and every movement clearly, and any invading enemy would be struck down by divine intervention in an instant, posing no further threat.

All the demonic cult members who were preparing to attack the camp turned and fled in terror as soon as they saw the white-clad figure atop the flagpole.

Thus, the common people and the heroes only needed to look at the flagpole and see the snow-white banner fluttering under the stars and moon to feel at ease and fall asleep with hope for tomorrow.

During the period of severe food shortage, Shu Yuliu once again performed songs and dances to worship the gods. She could indeed summon divine power from beyond the heavens, but she only used sound and light effects to make the crowd believe it.

Then Shu Yuliu could pretend to be divinely inspired, claiming to know where there was food, and then secretly cooperate with Lin Zhuo to dig out barley, rye, ghee, cheese, etc. from a remote place to sustain everyone for a few more days.

Lin Zhuo and Shu Yuliu often put on this act: every time they rescued serfs and broke their shackles, they had to appease them in the name of the gods.

The vast majority of poor people cannot understand topics other than faith. Only a very few heroes and great men, who have long abandoned the gods in their hearts, can better understand the profound meaning behind Lin Zhuo's actions.

It's impossible to change everyone's mind overnight. Lin Zhuo told the people of the snowy region that the sacred mountain had been seized by heretics, and that true gods and Buddhas did not need human sacrifices or blood offerings, but only devout and joyful singing and dancing to bring blessings and peace.

This wasn't a lie, since the extraterrestrial deity that Shu Yuliu invited did indeed enjoy music and dance.

With the slogan of expelling heretics and restoring the holy mountain, these poor people could be transformed from runaway slaves rejected by the mainstream into warriors of holy war. Only after the great war could they continue to live on this land with dignity.

Lin Zhuo can only plan and strategize for their future up to this point.

Among the serfs and the poor, there were many who possessed martial arts aptitude, but they were never allowed to practice martial arts, and they didn't even know the most basic art of cultivating internal energy.

Lin Zhuo led everyone in meditation, allowing them to internally sense their vital essence. Many Qigong masters emerged from this process, and they began practicing martial arts under the guidance of the Grandmaster. The first step was to practice the *Liuzhu Jing*, the most suitable internal energy cultivation method for ordinary people.

To help these novices quickly gain combat power, Lin Zhuo selected long-handled weapons such as spears and lances for them to practice with, and also created many martial arts techniques, light footwork, and hard footwork.

With Lin Zhuo's current vision and martial arts foundation, he could tailor a martial arts system for each student, but what he wanted was to create a set of techniques that could fit the martial artists of the Snow Region as closely as possible.

The local customs and traditions nurture the physique and spirit of the local martial artists. A single, widely applicable martial arts system is more effective in uniting the local population than hundreds of separate systems.

He used to practice and absorb the essence of martial arts from all over the world; now, he is creating.

Martial arts are a way for martial artists to express themselves to the world.

The martial arts created by Lin Zhuo naturally bear many personal imprints. Illiterate students cannot understand or learn them; they can only experience his martial arts through mental resonance and divine will.

The insights conveyed through the method of mind-to-mind transmission are indescribable and can only be experienced through their own thoughts. They gradually put their inspiration into practice. The same thing can evoke different feelings in different people, which is why the techniques taught by Lin Zhuo are always practiced in a distorted and unorthodox way by them.

The students often blamed themselves for this, feeling that they had let down the expectations of the Golden Pearl Mami.

Lin Zhuo didn't care. What he wanted to do was to strip away the personal elements in the cultivation techniques and feel the spirit of this land from the hearts of these students from the snowy region.

Dragons are ever-changing, adapting to different environments and times of day.

The Supreme Dragon Transformation and Qi Control Technique can simulate the Qi circulation routes of all martial arts, but what is truly difficult to imitate is the unique mental cultivation method of each martial art.

Lin Zhuo is very busy right now, so busy that he has no time to study his Qi control technique.

He would only take advantage of the short rest periods during his daily marches to teach martial arts to the children, youths, and middle-aged and elderly around him. All these students, who looked at him with curious and admiring eyes, wanted to spar with Lin Zhuo and feel his divine will in resonance.

In the eyes of these students, their teacher, their Golden Pearl Mami, is becoming more and more like the majestic holy mountain in the distance, more and more like the clear sky and vast wind of this land, more and more like this land itself.

Watching him demonstrate each move, his tall and robust body seemed to dissolve like ethereal clouds, dispersing into the surroundings, and all the images of the world became a part of him.

His movements are like an eagle striking a rabbit, like his fists and claws; his leaps are like rivers flowing and avalanches collapsing; his swords and spears are like the light breaking through the clouds.

The martial arts he created no longer bore the personal traces of Lin Zhuo, who was known for his overwhelming power, but instead resonated with the plants, trees, and creatures of the snowy region, as well as the mountains, plains, and rivers.

The students were finally able to completely replicate the martial arts that Lin Zhuo wanted to teach, because the techniques described were not profound or distant; they were right beside them, carrying their lives.

Some things happen naturally, but Lin Zhuo was slow to realize it.

[Network notification: The bottleneck of the skill [Supreme Dragon Transformation Qi Control Technique] has been broken, and the cultivation level cap has been unlocked.]

[Supreme Dragon Transformation and Qi Control Technique (Low Grade, Gray)]

This skill integrates all methods of applying force in the world, seeking the supreme deity to govern the four directions. It appears simple but is actually complex, seemingly clumsy but actually skillful. If one cultivates it to its fullest potential, all kinds of techniques will be readily available. It is the general principle of all martial arts in the world.

Progression: 100% (Perfect)

Current effect: Can simultaneously condense [Destruction], [Swiftness], [Protection], and "Mystery" True Qi, and freely transform them; True Qi state can be maintained for a long time without degenerating into initial Mind Qi; All skills involving the use of Mind Qi have their base training multiplier increased according to their grade (minimum multiplier is ×2).

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