To avoid raising suspicions, he refrained from casually going out to gather information in the latter half of the month, only managing to obtain some news through small talk with others at most.
Fortunately, with his Grandmaster Realm cultivation, as long as he asked, people generally showed him face. Before long, he had learned quite a bit through these exchanges.
During this period, he constantly took Wan Xiaolou to the Golden Wind and Drizzle Building, and the master-apprentice duo started to gain a small reputation in Wanyang County.
Of course, the main reason was his status as a master with Grandmaster Realm cultivation; after all, such a level was considered the pinnacle in a county .
New Yu Era 1322, early July.
At the small courtyard of the Wan Family in the east of the city.
Hou Yuxiao sat in the main hall with his eyes closed, surrounded by black Mysterious Demon True Qi. With each breath, he continued to expand the True Qi Cloud Cluster within his dantian.
True Qi Manifesting Technique, Martial God Platform, Transform True Qi into Yuan, then open the lower abdomen Earth Threshold, and finally break through the brow's Heaven's Threshold; these are the Five Realms of Grandmasters.
He was now at the first stage, expanding his Dantian True Qi Cloud Cluster to its maximum before attempting to connect with the Martial Dao Divine Platform and condense the Martial Dao Spirit.
This stage had no restrictions. Even if your True Qi Cloud Cluster was no bigger than the size of a thumb, you could still attempt to connect. However, the Martial Dao Spirit is intangible and elusive; without a sufficient understanding of martial arts, you wouldn't even be able to connect to the Martial God Platform, let alone condense the Martial Dao Spirit.
"However, this stage is far too simple for me!"
A hint of confidence rose in Hou Yuxiao's eyes. If it were any other talent, he wouldn't dare say he was very strong, but with his understanding of martial arts and the help of the Minor Rejuvenation Pill, he was confident that there weren't many in the world who could surpass him.
The Martial Dao Spirit, in simple terms, is the physical manifestation of your most profound martial art skill, like previously with Sikong Yue's Rakshasa Demon Shadow, which was her understanding of the Ten Rakshasa Holy Scriptures.
At this thought, Hou Yuxiao glanced sideways at the Ape Demon Staff beside him, pondered for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled softly.
"The True Qi hasn't taken shape yet. I've just entered the Manifesting Law stage for a month, and I'm already considering condensing the Martial Dao Spirit. I can't be so greedy. I need to take it step by step, make a solid foundation, so the path ahead will be smoother!"
For others, expanding the True Qi Cloud Cluster might be a time-consuming task, but for him with a devouring ability, it was too easy.
As long as he absorbed the cultivation of three Grandmaster Realm martial artists, he could easily achieve it.
Hou Yuxiao focused his mind and spirit, turning his attention to the shining Merit Gold Page in his mind with two lines of data.
"Both merit and karmic obstacles are a bit short!"
At the end of April, he had over ninety thousand merit points and more than a thousand karmic obstacles.
In just these short three months, he had almost used them all up.
The four functions of the Divine Lotus, transformation and the Minor Rejuvenation Pill's consumption, were negligible. The main expenditures were the plundering of cultivation and the promotion of martial arts.
Plundering cultivation required karmic obstacle consumption based on the target's cultivation level. For a weaker Warrior of the Gang Qi Realm, only 10 points of karmic obstacles were needed. For a Tiger List expert like Helian Wuji, it required over 300 points.
Consuming karmic obstacles wasn't the issue. The real problem was that after plundering someone else's cultivation, the karmic obstacles inside him would surge. If he didn't use merit to cancel them out in time, he risked losing his sanity at best, or at worst, dying on the spot.
Thus, the rapid growth of Hou Yuxiao's cultivation these past months relied entirely on those over ninety thousand merit points, frantically offsetting the karmic obstacles that came with devouring others' strengths.
As for the fourth function, the promotion of martial arts, the consumption of merit was also severe. To promote non-First-Class martial arts to First-Class, only 300 points were needed, from Third-Rate to Second-Rate required 1000 points, and from Second-Rate to First-Class astonishingly needed 10000 merit points.
Hou Yuxiao had no shortage of martial arts, and originally he wanted to elevate the Lifting Dragon Stick Technique to First-Class martial arts; but seeing the terrifying consumption of merit, and considering Maiden Hong gave him two First-Class martial arts, he restrained himself.
"Such a small amount of merit and karmic obstacles aren't even enough to enhance my cultivation, let alone deal with the upcoming situation!"
Hou Yuxiao looked outside the door with a slightly solemn tone.
More and more people were gathering in Wanyang County, some for the Blood Demon, some for the Rakshasa Holy Sect, and some for fame...
Whatever their purposes were, the situation in Tongling County would get more and more complicated.
Caught in the middle, the Hou Family needed to seize the time to enhance its strength or risk total annihilation with the slightest mishap. This urgency was the reason for Hou Yuxiao's haste.
"It's just a pity that opportunities to gain a large amount of merit are hard to come by unless the Hou Family can take control of another city. That would increase the daily fixed amount of merit gained, and the speed of accumulation could be improved!"
After voicing this thought, Hou Yuxiao shook his head with a smile, resigned to the fact that it was not easy to gain another city. The initial struggle for the Hou Clan to take over Zhaoyang involved multiple life-or-death situations before he succeeded.
"However, my strength now is incomparable to what it was back then. If I plan it carefully, it's not impossible for the Hou Family to gain another city!"
Gazing out at the bustling streets of Wanyang County outside the courtyard, Hou Yuxiao smiled confidently, ambition glinting deep within his pupils.
After a long while, Hou Yuxiao calmed the emotions in his heart and, looking at the children still practicing martial arts outside in the courtyard, he suddenly remembered the Second Elder and his group.
"It's been two months since I left, and the Rakshasa Festival is close at hand. It's about time to return..."
With this thought crossing his mind, Hou Yuxiao stood up, ready to step out and guide them. But before he could leave, Wan Xiaolou rushed in from outside, holding an invitation in his hand.