Cultivation through Skin Making

"Rejoice, rejoice! The Wu army stationed by the river has been defeated. General Jia, after detouring, first captured the key city in the rear, then launched a complete siege. The Wu army lost all morale and surrendered after minimal resistance."

"What's there to rejoice about? General Jia acted on his own. Is he planning to conquer the Wu Kingdom and declare himself king?"

Two men, dressed in the robes of high ministers of the Jin Kingdom, were arguing.

Beside them stood a man in a red robe with short whiskers and a sinister glint in his eyes, listening intently.

No matter how the two argued, the man in the red robe remained utterly calm until a rotund martial artist clad in iron armor, with a menacing demeanor, approached him from the side and gave his report. Only then did the man in the red robe show a change in expression.

He seemed to have heard something delightful and laughed heartily, "Good, good, at last they've all been captured, finally all captured, hurry, hurry, hurry."

He hurriedly left the tent, only to see piles of iron cages not far away, filled with handsome men and beautiful women. Though they appeared despondent, they showed no signs of illness, indicating that despite being imprisoned, they were still well taken care of.

Outside the tent, three beautiful young women stood, each exuding charm and beauty of a different kind: one seductive, one pure, and one intelligent.

The man who had come to report earlier was almost glued to the sight of the three women, his eyes tracing their forms. He leaned towards the menacing rotund martial artist and asked, "Laughing Butcher, what kind of play is this?"

Laughing Butcher let out a cold snort, "You fools, all you think about is General Jia, but His Highness had everything prepared long ago."

He pointed towards the iron cages from afar, "Those are offerings for the Immortal Sect."

Then, pointing to the three women before him, he said, "This is Princess Yongjia of the Wei Kingdom, this is Princess Huaining of the Shu Kingdom, and this is Princess Qiushui of the Wu Kingdom, the greatest beauties of the royal families of the Three Kingdoms, offered to that great person."

With disdain, Laughing Butcher continued, "You only see the petty victories from afar without understanding the reason behind them. His Highness is truly farsighted..."

The other two quickly nodded, their expressions turning to one of realization, as they began to praise His Highness's wisdom.

...

The "Furnaces" were soon transported to the market at the foot of Puppet Sect Mountain.

This market was no longer at the foot of South Bamboo Peak but under Paperman Peak instead.

Stalls, high buildings, iron cages, and the bustling presence of evil cultivators, great thieves, and Jianghu miscreants could be seen, along with the second prince of the Jin Kingdom—Ma Zhao.

The mingled scents of rouge, herbs, fine delicacies, and mountain mist, with a faint odor of decay from somewhere unknown, created an ever-growing, far larger marketplace than existed before.

The Nanwu Sword Sect was destroyed, leaving the Puppet Sect in sole dominance.

The Jin Kingdom had extinguished Wei, Shu, and now was on the verge of consuming the Wu Kingdom, thus unifying the Three Kingdoms.

To the mundane world, the Jin Palace was the center of political power in the realm.

But to the elites and the Jianghu, true power lay here.

Ma Zhao, full of ambition, sat in a pavilion, his leg crossed, nibbling on fruits and sweets, awaiting the return of that great person.

As he watched, he suddenly noticed a figure not far away.

The figure wore nothing but a simple face-covering cloak, wandering as if both examining goods and reminiscing.

At first, there was nothing notable until a gust of wind slightly lifted the cloak, revealing half of the figure's face.

Ma Zhao, being the second prince of the Jin Kingdom, though delving into unscrupulous methods to climb the ranks, possessed some talent, and having a "good memory" was one such talent.

He took great care to remember the faces and names of anyone who might prove useful to him. Even after years apart, he could recognize them instantly, feigning a joyful reunion as if meeting an old friend.

Therefore, such a person would never make the blunder of not recognizing an important person standing before him, only to mock them and face retribution later.

Before coming here, he had etched that great person's face in his mind. He might forget his father or his wife but never this great person.

Later, upon realizing that the great person was someone he had previously mocked at the South Bamboo Peak market, he had long planned on how to apologize and admit his mistake.

At this moment, seeing that figure, Ma Zhao's entire body shook violently, his heart pounding, and the arm holding the teacup trembled. He leapt up and slid on his knees before the figure, exclaiming joyfully, "Greetings, Sect Leader Song!"

After speaking, he began to rub his eyes, tearily stating, "I've long admired you, and today, finally seeing you, my heart trembles uncontrollably, my clothes soaked with tears, sobbing... I've finally met you."

Suddenly recalling something, he started slapping his face left and right, saying, "Years ago, at the foot of South Bamboo Peak, I had the fortune to see you once. It's a shame this fool couldn't recognize the gold Buddha. Had I known, I would have knelt before you immediately, sobbing..."

This bout of sobbing drew the attention of those around.

They had assumed it was one of the captured Furnaces lamenting, but upon closer inspection, recognized the sobbing figure as the second prince of the Jin Kingdom. Seeing whom he knelt before, they rushed over, forming circle upon circle around Song Yan, kneeling him at the center.

In the distance, those within the cages, many Furnaces looked longingly at the sole standing man, displaying only two kinds of expressions.