Chapter 63: Harsh Rule Crueler Than a Tiger; the Chaos Begins!

The Marrow Transformation Pill dissolved the moment it touched his tongue. Lu Changsheng immediately activated the Li clan's Marrow Transformation Secret Technique to set his bone marrow into vibration.

Indeed, the marrow itself would vibrate. At Perfection, the technique could directly resonate through the marrow. Had Lu Changsheng attempted this before taking the pill, the vibrations would have been useless. In fact, it might have even damaged his marrow.

Now that he had taken the Marrow Transformation Pill, the sensation was entirely different. He felt a stream of warmth arise within his marrow. As he continued practicing the technique, that warmth gradually intensified until it felt like a fire burning deep within his bones.

The more intense the heat became, the more he knew he could not stop. That burning sensation meant the pill was taking effect. Even so, the process was far from easy and quite painful. It felt as though his bones would soon turn to ash.

Lu Changsheng held firm to his will and gritted his teeth while enduring in silence. The scorching sensation lasted for more than twenty hours, and he bore all that pain without wavering.

After an entire day had passed, the burning gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

Whoosh...

Lu Changsheng wearily opened his eyes.

"Did it work?" he murmured.

In truth, he could not tell with certainty whether he had managed to transform his marrow, but at least the pain was gone. He pressed a hand gently to his chest and could feel his heart beating with newfound force.

Thump, thump, thump...

Each beat was stronger than the previous one. Within his veins came the faint, rushing sound of blood surging through, much like a flooding river. At that very moment, his flow of blood qi surged once more.

"My blood qi... It's increasing again?"

Lu Changsheng was astonished. His blood qi had long reached its limit. After using the Blood Replacement Pill, it had continued to rise for a short while before stabilizing. Now, it was rising once more, with tremendous speed no less.

He closed his eyes and focused on the changes within his body. Blood surged through his veins with thunderous force, and his heart pounded violently. Amidst the rushing flow, new blood seemed to be forming. Those fresh streams coursed swiftly through his veins, steadily strengthening his blood qi.

"Wait... Is this new blood... coming from the marrow?"

A spark of realization stirred in his mind. After all, the bone marrow served as one of the body's primary organs for producing blood. Once it transformed, its capacity to generate new blood would increase tremendously. Through an endless cycle of renewal, the blood within the body grew increasingly potent.

Blood itself was of utmost importance, for it directly determined the overall strength and vitality of the human body. Lu Changsheng had already replaced his blood once, and it was already immensely powerful. Now that his marrow was transforming, and his ability to create new blood had improved, his body had entered a self-strengthening cycle.

The Marrow Transformation Pill has already been absorbed completely into the marrow through the Li clan's secret technique. My marrow has begun to change, but it will take some time to complete. For now, all I can do is wait.

Lu Changsheng had a clear grasp of his condition. Marrow transformation was a gradual process that required time—a few days at least. However, once the transformation began, there was no longer any danger. All that remained was to wait quietly for it to run its course.

Lu Changsheng resumed his daily routine at Miaoren Hall. With the weather growing warmer, the number of patients had noticeably decreased.

"

Hmm

? Physician Wang, who is this?" Lu Changsheng asked, pausing his motions in surprise.

Beside Wang Ruhai stood a girl of seven or eight years old. Her clothes were worn thin, and she had no shoes on her feet. She looked frightened, and the moment she saw Lu Changsheng, she hid behind Wang Ruhai.

Wang Ruhai sighed softly and said, "Nannan, come out. This is Physician Lu."

The girl didn't move, her eyes wide with fear.

"Physician Lu, I bought her on the road... for only one qian of silver[1]," Wang Ruhai explained with a conflicted expression.

"One qian of silver?" Lu Changsheng repeated, unable to believe what he had just heard.

He knew the imperial court prohibited slavery, but with the world in chaos and morality crumbling, few still cared for such laws. The practice of buying and keeping slaves had spread widely among the common people. Regardless, the idea of someone selling a child for such a low price was unthinkable.

"Physician Lu, you've heard that the prefect summoned the wealthy families of Nanyang to donate funds and grain, hoping to raise an army to suppress the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert, haven't you? Well, guess how much they raised in the end. Nanyang may not be the richest prefecture, but it's not so poor that it can offer only that. The truth is that the gentry and those rich merchants refused to give anything.

"When the funds fell short, what could the prefect do? He went ahead and imposed another tax! Under the guise of this so-called

bandit-suppression levy

, he forced the burden onto the common people, plunging them into misery. The Thirteen Riders disrupted the trade routes, and the wealthy were the most affected. They absolutely refused to part with their wealth, and so they made the authorities bleed the common folk dry.

"Nannan's parents couldn't afford the levy, so they were left with no choice but to sell their daughter. I pitied them, and the child was obedient and well-mannered, so I bought her. It's just one more pair of chopsticks at my table."

Indeed, Wang Ruhai had a kind heart. He had bought the girl only to save her life, yet in such a turbulent world, even he was powerless to do more. Lu Changsheng finally understood the saying that the harsh rule is crueler than a tiger.

The authorities never ran out of justifications to impose taxes. Now, they were taking more from the people under the pretext of fighting against bandits. With so many oppressive levies, it was no wonder the world was descending into chaos.

Lu Changsheng replied, "Still, once the army is deployed, the Thirteen Riders outside the city will be wiped out. At least bandits won't be able to cause as much trouble in Nanyang Prefecture for a while. That itself is a good thing."

He was only a physician. Even as an Organ Refinement martial artist, he possessed no power to change the course of the world.

"Let's hope so." Wang Ruhai shook his head and said no more.

A few more days passed in a blur. Lu Changsheng felt the gradual transformation of his marrow more and more vividly. It felt like his marrow was being reborn into one with far greater vitality. Its capacity to produce blood grew stronger each day, and consequently, so did Lu Changsheng's body.

This was precisely why martial artists who underwent both blood replacement and marrow transformation advanced toward the Divine Strength Realm more smoothly. Once the blood and marrow were transformed, the body's fundamental strength would rise on its own. Even so, full transformation would take more time.

One day at Miaoren Hall, while Lu Changsheng was taking a break with his eyes closed, Zhang Huan stormed in.

"Something terrible has happened! The army's been defeated! The Thirteen Riders led a band of forest bandits and completely routed the troops. The soldiers fled in disarray, abandoning their weapons and armor as they ran back to Nanyang City. Worse still, riding the momentum of victory, the Thirteen Riders slaughtered five nearby villages and killed hundreds to strike fear into the Nanyang authorities."

Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly. How could the imperial army lose? Even weakened, it was still the imperial army. How could a handful of bandits defeat trained soldiers?

Wang Ruhai hurriedly asked, "Zhang Huan, what exactly happened? Is Nanyang City still safe?"

Zhang Huan glanced around to make sure no patients were nearby, then whispered, "Rumor has it the Thirteen Riders have allied with the White Demons. With their aid, they overwhelmed the army. However, Nanyang City should be safe for now. The Thirteen Riders won't dare attack the city."

Wang Ruhai exhaled in relief. As long as Nanyang City remained safe, everything would hold together for the time being. If the city fell, the people would face ruination.

"The White Demons?" Lu Changsheng murmured as the realization struck him. That was how both common people and those in the jianghu referred to the White Lotus Cult. The cult was synonymous with "rebellion," as they had opposed every dynasty throughout history, even the ones stretching back a thousand years.

In the jianghu, there was an old saying, "Dynasties rise and fall like flowing water, but the White demon endures like iron." Across a thousand years, no matter who ruled, the White Lotus Cult would always rise again.

Wang Ruhai sighed at the bleak news. "These White Demons live for chaos. With the Thirteen Riders allying with them, they've become a real threat. The common people of Nanyang Prefecture will only suffer even more."

1. One qian is roughly one-tenth of a tael ☜