Becoming a god by following the natural order and seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune.

Chapter 32 Marriage
Deep within the military camp in the northern city, Chen Sheng stood steadily, practicing the stance training of the Golden Bell Body Forging Method.

His eyes were slightly closed, and his blood and qi surged like a stream throughout his body. His internal energy circulated repeatedly, and each breath caused his muscles and bones to emit a subtle hum.

[Basic knife skills perfected (125/2000)]

[Mastery of the Golden Bell Body Forging Method (273/1000)]

[The Secret Technique of Fishing for Toads (Minor Success) (14/500)]

[Minor Mastery of the Three Ultimate Demon-Slaying Sword Techniques (106/500)]

As his consciousness swept over the progress clearly appearing in his mind, Chen Sheng's state of mind was quite different from before.

Previously, he had cultivated diligently because he could clearly perceive his own progress and enjoyed it; but now, after beginning to refine that drop of Earth Spirit Milk, what surged in his heart was true excitement and shock.

In just two days, the pure energy transformed from the spiritual milk flowed like a river bursting its banks, continuously merging into every part of the body.

He could clearly feel that his own blood and qi were growing stronger at an astonishing rate, and his internal energy was becoming more and more powerful and surging. His cultivation progress was so fast that it was like traveling by leaps and bounds.

"The Earth Spirit Milk truly lives up to its reputation..."

Chen Sheng stood up, his eyes gleaming with a sharp inner light.

According to his estimation, he has not yet refined more than one-fifth of that drop of spiritual milk. If he could absorb it all, it would probably be enough to push his cultivation to the peak of the Bone Forging Realm.

This was only spirit milk of an ordinary age. He had heard that rarer varieties, aged thirty years or more, not only enhanced cultivation but also had the miraculous effect of cleansing the marrow and rejuvenating the meridians. Of course, such rare treasures were far beyond his current reach.

While enjoying the joy of his improved cultivation, Chen Sheng was also well aware of the increasingly treacherous situation in Changshan County.

The destruction of the Seven Star Gang was like a boulder thrown into stagnant water, and the ripples it created are constantly expanding. While all parties appear silent on the surface, undercurrents are surging beneath the surface, especially the Gao family, who will certainly not let the matter rest.

To prevent the local powerful clans from completely banding together, he and Wu Kuang carefully discussed and decided on two countermeasures.

Firstly, he proactively spread the "true reason" behind Chen Sheng's annihilation of the Seven Stars Gang—namely, the "hatred for his father's murder." This move was intended to clearly target the government's crackdown on the Gao family and their affiliated Seven Stars Gang, implying that the matter stemmed from a personal grudge, rather than the government's intention to crack down on all local forces.

Although the plan was not perfect, it did shake the already loose alliance to some extent. Many forces couldn't help but think: since the government's main target was the Gao family, why should they step forward and confront the government head-on?

Even after the Gao family falls, it will be more beneficial to them.

Upon learning this news, the Gao family was naturally furious. They never expected Chen Sheng to expose his own shortcomings. They could only try their best to explain the advantages and disadvantages and emphasize the principle of mutual dependence in order to barely maintain the alliance from falling apart immediately.

However, the trust between them has been broken, as many forces are happy to see the Gao family suffer losses.

The three families may seem to be closely connected, but they are actually competing with each other. After all, Changshan has only so many resources, and if you take more, the others will have to take less.

Unless faced with a real crisis, even local powerful families are constantly fighting amongst themselves.

Secondly, there was the strategy of sowing discord and winning over local powerful figures. Wu Kuang even took the initiative to curry favor with Magistrate Lin Shou. In any case, Lin Shou was the most powerful man in the county and was rumored to have connections in the prefectural city. His cooperation with local powerful figures was more about mutual exploitation than a willingness to act as a puppet.

Faced with Wu Kuang's olive branch, Lin Shou weighed the pros and cons and chose to accept, but also threw out a "sugar-coated bullet" - a marriage alliance.

Marriage is undoubtedly one of the most direct and effective ways to express one's position and build an alliance.

Wu Kuang was already married and had little interest in taking a concubine. Therefore, Chen Sheng, a young and promising confidant of Wu Kuang, became the most suitable candidate. A young commander of the Northern City who had already reached the rank of ninth grade, he was undoubtedly a highly promising marriage partner.

Without much hesitation, Lin Shou decided to arrange the marriage with the Yang family, one of the three major families.

The reason is simple: Lin Shou's wife is the eldest daughter of the Yang family, making them related by marriage and thus closer. Furthermore, the Yang family is known for its low profile among the three major families, allowing him to exert influence.

Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang understood this implicitly.

Arranged marriages are merely a stopgap measure, a formality. Large families have complicated marriage procedures, so this is a convenient way to buy time.

Their goal was clear—to focus their efforts on dealing with the Gao family first. Once the Gao family fell, the decision of whether or not to fulfill the marriage agreement would no longer be in the other party's hands.

Today is the day I was supposed to meet the women of the Yang family for the first time.

However, Chen Sheng's mind was not entirely focused on this scheming meeting.

Because at dawn, the words of the "auspicious and inauspicious" celestial book reappeared in my mind, bringing a chilling warning:

"My name is Chen Sheng. When you see this, I will be filled with regret. Because of the destruction of the Seven Star Gang, the Gao family finally deduced my identity after meeting me, and thus decided to kill me. They still had some reservations about dealing with Wu Kuang and the others, so they set their sights on me. The three families conspired together, and this time they didn't need any tricks, they just wanted to kill me quickly, intending to intimidate Wu Kuang."

On the evening of October 16th, I was practicing my martial arts at the government office as usual when someone took advantage of the weakened defenses of the martial arts camp during their off-duty hours to infiltrate and attack! The attacker was a martial artist at the Marrow Transformation Realm, and also possessed terrifying poison skills. Although I fought my way through until reinforcements arrived, I was still injured by their poison gas... Ultimately, the severe poison damaged part of my martial arts foundation. Every time I think about it, I am filled with regret. If only I had known this earlier...

The cold words seemed to carry unfinished blood and hatred.

Chen Sheng regained his composure without expression, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"That's truly a ruthless tactic..."

He sneered inwardly. These three families were indeed not the fools in the stories who would send waves of people to give them experience points. They made a decisive move that would kill them all.

To deal with him, a mere Bone Forging Realm cultivator, they actually dispatched a Marrow Transformation Realm martial artist, who was also skilled in poison arts and aimed to kill him with a single blow. This was clearly to leave him no way out and to use this thunderous method to severely intimidate Wu Kuang.

Unfortunately, they overlooked one thing.

Chen Sheng clenched his fist, feeling the surging blood and qi within his body due to the spiritual milk. Now that he knew about this matter in advance, he naturally wouldn't fall for the trap again.

This time, not only should we thwart their efforts, but perhaps... we can also use this opportunity to turn things around and further sow discord among the three already scheming alliances.

Thinking of this, Chen Sheng suppressed his surging murderous intent and straightened his slightly wrinkled robes. After regaining his composure, he stepped out of the government office and boarded the carriage that had been prepared for him.

The carriage turned and slowly drove towards the Lin residence.

This meeting was not held at the Yang family's residence, nor on his territory, but rather at the residence of County Magistrate Lin Shou, where his wife was the one who initiated the marriage proposal.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)