History Has Fallen Ill

Chapter 68: Diseased Dynasty Formation, Departing for the Great Jiangnan Competition!

In truth, there was no need to cultivate all the way to the Silver Armored Warrior realm. Once the Silver Dragon-Tiger Qi was formed, it could already counteract spells and weaken the damage of techniques upon oneself.

But without sufficient powerful spiritual force, it could only circulate internally.

The more Dragon-Tiger Qi one possessed, the stronger the effect of 【Lawbreaker】.

These effects had additional bonuses against sinister techniques!

White Sakura truly was fortunate. The Great Ming was still your daddy!

The most terrifying ones were the Silver-grade spell cultivators—they not only mastered spells, but could also break spells.

This was practically a bug-level cultivation system!

The reason Jiang Yan was able to cultivate so swiftly, aside from the enlightenment boost of the Heart Monkey bloodline, was because…

Silver was extremely precious in the Silver Dynasty. After all, in history, silver mines were scarce in the Great Ming, and silver production was low.

It rose by silver, and it fell by silver.

Even after mutation, this remained unchanged—the craving for silver only deepened.

On the other hand, White Sakura had quite a few gold and silver mines during the same period.

But in the modern world, thanks to advanced industry, one kilogram of silver only cost sixteen thousand yuan.

Although it still required accumulation of humane fate through circulation.

But in the modern day, aside from antiques with historical value, circulated old silver coins were even cheaper.

Moreover, with the Tianxia Alliance’s population base of over a billion, the humane fate was overwhelmingly prosperous.

Thus, he spent only seven thousand to buy a catty of silver coins from a coin shop, including shipping. According to the Ming dynasty standard of one tael of silver being about 37.3 grams, this amounted to roughly 13 taels.

And Chen Shui, as the team captain, received 3 grams of Silver Bean per month. The others only received 2 grams. That was the monthly allotment—rewards for promotions or defeating enemies had to be earned otherwise.

This was roughly the monthly military pay of three hundred people.

In theory, with just one hundred thousand yuan, one could raise a supernatural army of three thousand in the Silver Dynasty.

Of course, that required official authority to conscript troops.

Still, it showed the vast differences between worlds.

Jiang Yan condensed fifty strands of Dragon-Tiger Qi and only used up half of the silver coins, raising his physique to the Foundation Establishment Stage, with his strength increasing by 2,500 jin. This was in addition to the physical enhancement from Spirit Rice.

A full-force strike from a typical early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would probably feel like a tickle to him.

If he could condense over eighty strands, he might even take a direct hit from a Law Seed Stage cultivator and suffer only minor injuries.

“It's a pity. I had to cultivate the method into a descendant to ignore the silver mutation. If anyone else tried this, they'd have long turned into a silver statue. As it stands, I can’t sell it to headquarters for points.”

Jiang Yan felt a bit regretful. He also had another concern.

Ordinary people condensed Dragon-Tiger Qi while tempering their bodies, accumulating strength day by day until they broke through.

But since he condensed fifty strands of Silver Dragon-Tiger Qi all at once, he had to wait a few extra days to allow it to temper all his blood and meridians before moving to the next step.

This was a scenario even the method’s creator probably never imagined.

“However, the authorities surely delved into the Ming or even deeper Diseased Domains. Yet they never popularized the 【Lawbreaker】 profession of Silver Dragon-Tiger Qi. There must be reasons I don’t yet know.

Although the Dragon-Tiger Qi cultivation method appears complete, once practiced, the cultivator’s karma becomes faintly entangled with the Silver Dynasty. Like a magnet, it draws cultivators closer…”

Were it not for Jiang Yan possessing the 【Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins Dao Scripture】, which granted him extraordinary sensitivity to karma and cataclysmic energy, he might not have even noticed.

The Silver Dynasty—or something within it—had become the anchor for all Silver spell cultivators.

Silently and invisibly, it was siphoning something unseen from them.

The medium… was silver.

“Is this an attempt to construct a Dynasty of Fate? Or is some high-ranking cultivator spreading low-level cultivation methods to raise food?”

Jiang Yan rubbed his chin. He was already numb to this pitfall-laden world.

In any case, he had his descendants and the Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins—who was reeling in whom was still uncertain.

What a pity he hadn’t unlocked the function for cross-realm item transfer yet. Otherwise, Jiang Yan would have sent Chen Shui a heap of silver. Even if they had to use cinnabar to suppress the mutation, it could quickly raise him to the 【Silver Armored Warrior】 realm.

Then, he could witness the gallantry of that hero Qi Jiguang.

And perhaps go even further—let Chen Shui rise in military rank through merit, infiltrate the system, and witness those eminent officials, and the ruler of the Silver Dynasty.

“I wonder whether this time, the battlefield of the Qi Family Army will be at the frontlines or in the imperial court?”

Jiang Yan was not worried. He had already done all that he could.

He was about to depart for the newcomer grand competition in Jiangnan Province. Matters regarding the Silver Dynasty would be handed over to the Little Heavenly Ghost for supervision and response.

Unless a major incident occurred, he would not be summoned.

Dong! Dong dong!

Just as Jiang Yan was about to continue his cultivation, knocking came at the door. The Little Heavenly Ghost tilted its head, its figure blurred, and vanished.

Opening the door, he saw none other than the long-absent Ba Lie.

Dark circles were heavy under his eyes—he looked utterly drained of essence, energy, and spirit.

Jiang Yan advised, “Old Ba, while craftsmanship is important, you’ve got to pace yourself!”

“How the hell did you know I’ve been doing handicrafts?”

Old Ba blurted out reflexively, but soon caught himself and swore with a laugh:

“Screw off! Would I, Old Ba, need to use my hands to comprehend the Grand Dao of Yin and Yang? These past days, I’ve been working hard all for your sake!”

Jiang Yan was a bit puzzled, but quickly saw Old Ba reach out his hand. Floating above it was a palm-sized, black-and-white martial scholar’s robe.

The black part was the inner armor; the white, an outer robe. It was embroidered with golden patterns of the Xuan Bird, fire motifs, and auspicious floral designs. Exquisitely crafted, it came with a pair of black boots.

Jiang Yan couldn't help but exclaim, “So beautiful!”

That reaction made Old Ba quite satisfied, and he urged:

“Try it on quickly.”

Jiang Yan accepted the garment. Radiance bloomed from it, and it turned into flowing light that wrapped around his body. In the blink of an eye, he was dressed in the martial scholar's robe. It fit perfectly and felt comfortable.

“Summon your armguard!” Old Ba's voice rang out.

With a thought, the ferocious Buddha Armguard manifested, perfectly matching the outfit. It looked awe-inspiring and domineering, yet retained a scholarly grace.

Within the robe and armor, spiritual energy flowed—it was no showpiece, but a genuine treasure.

“Not bad, not bad. A perfect fit. Especially with your face and physique—step onto a stage in that getup and people would think the champion marquis of both pen and sword had arrived.”

Old Ba looked him over with satisfaction before explaining:

“The path I walk is called 【Heaven-Weaving Maiden】, condensing the Law Seed 【All Beings Patchwork Brocade Garment Technique】. It can weave garments for both people and ghosts. Legend has it that at the end of this path, one can weave for heaven and earth themselves.

Anyway, this is a mid-grade transcendent treasure garment. It cost me great effort to spin millennium cold iron into silk and weave it seamlessly into the inner armor—it can withstand one full blow from a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The outer robe was crafted from the light of dawn harvested at early morning—it only appears during one incense stick's time when the first sun rises. To gather enough, do you know what I went through over the past half month?

But with this, the garment becomes as light as a feather. It comes with 【Clothes-Cleansing Technique】, to automatically remove dust and grime, and also has an unexpected burst skill befitting a sneak.

As for the boots… I was really too exhausted, so I just used some spider silk. They're comfy to wear. This treasure garment can be stored away at will and should allow easy blending into most ancient Diseased Domains.”

At this point, Ba Lie yawned and muttered:

“No need to thank me. Zhao Yinman and the others also have treasure garments I made. There are quite a few scions of noble families participating in this competition, all bearing treasures. You're representing the Pan’an Branch Bureau—you can’t just appear inferior. Now with this treasure garment, you’ll definitely blind their dog… eyes.”

Jiang Yan caressed the robe, every part painstakingly woven by Ba Lie. He was moved and said:

“Uncle Ba, I want to take care of you in your old age!”

“Scram! You think I’ve never watched The Knockout?”

Ba Lie rolled his eyes and laughed. “Alright, no more of this sentimental crap. Strive for a good placement. If not, just come back safely. I need to catch up on sleep.”

Jiang Yan watched Ba Lie’s departing back, knowing he didn’t show favoritism because of talent—

He treated every member of the Pan’an Branch Bureau like family, silently preparing everything for them.

Two days passed in a flash.

Jiang Yan successfully advanced the Vajravārāhī Seal to 【Mastery Level 99%】, but had hit a bottleneck.

He would need a great deal of time to refine it further or devour other skill-descendants of the same type to forcibly break through.

The Dragon-Tiger Qi had also tempered roughly two-thirds of his body.

After eating lunch prepared by Yin Yiyi, Jiang Yan and Zhao Yinman got into the Maybach and set off.

He watched the receding scenery with anticipation in his heart:

“Heroes fill the world like crucian carp crossing the river. This time, it’s time to see the wider world!”