Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 148 - 144: The Fame of the Master of Soldiers Spreads, Striking the Lightning Devil God to Celebrate His Birthday

Chapter 148: Chapter 144: The Fame of the Master of Soldiers Spreads, Striking the Lightning Devil God to Celebrate His Birthday

The Scripture Book Taoist came alone, holding a golden scroll in his hands.

"I am Cheng Yang, the Archivist and Merit Officer of Mei Mountain Society. Greetings, fellow Taoist." Cheng Yang was a very elderly man, his appearance exceptionally aged.

"Pleasure to meet you!"

Song Lin cupped his hands in polite acknowledgment.

The two sat down in the grand hall, and soon instructed others to prepare the dharma altar for the ceremony. The Scripture Book Taoist would read aloud the rewards—promotions for those deserving them, and talisman grants for others.

"This time, I’ve brought rewards for the horned giant fish incident, as well as this recent matter with the tree spirit. Do you want the raw materials or should I exchange them for dharma coins?"

Cheng Yang asked.

"Exchange everything for dharma coins," Song Lin thought for a moment. Eventually, he decided that coins were more practical; the parts from those demons weren’t especially important.

"This time, you’ve earned a total of two thousand five hundred yin merit. While yin merit can’t be directly exchanged for resources, it’s vital as a threshold for accessing many things. You can now redeem some top-secret cultivation techniques and spells from the Taoist Temple."

Yin merit is akin to worldly accomplishments among ordinary people. Accomplishments can be used for promotions or to obtain certain privileges. Alongside earning yin merit comes various accompanying rewards.

"If you exchange everything for dharma coins, it totals to one hundred seventeen thousand five hundred coins."

The ceremony soon began.

There wasn’t anything especially noteworthy about it—mostly standard formalities.

Shi Yinhua received an Alliance Power Talisman. Lin Qing and Li Jing were promoted, and a few bottles of pills were distributed as awards from the Taoist Temple.

After sending the Scripture Book Taoist on his way, Song Lin immediately began closed-door cultivation and entered the illusion realm using the Blessing Jade Talisman.

Within the grand hall, there were only a few masked individuals here and there, among whom was the resident Fire God.

On the opposing wall hung numerous plaques, most of which were requests for pills.

Song Lin picked up two plaques, using a nearby vermillion pen to write their contents.

"Seeking a large quantity of Thunder God Vine, thunder stones, and nine-times thunderstruck wood."

The second plaque was for the sale of cultivation techniques.

Who knows how long it will take to procure these items.

As he pondered, Song Lin suddenly had a thought and approached the Fire God, asking, "Fire God Taoist, do you have any thunder talismans or related cultivation techniques here?"

"I should have them, but the variations of Thunder Skill differ across regions. Even if you acquire a technique, it won’t be usable without specific talismans to apply the Thunder Skill."

Thunder Skill comes in many forms—some focus on refining soldiers, others hone inner cores, some prioritize talismans, while others specialize in the Five Thunders Slaying technique.

Song Lin considered this and realized it was true.

He himself had relied on the Five Thunders Heavenly Master Order to comprehend Thunder Skill.

The Thunder Skill of Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect originated from Spirit Treasure Sect. The techniques of Spirit Treasure Sect are quite scattered, and even so, special tokens are required to study them.

"It seems I’ll have to seek opportunities in another realm."

Song Lin had assumed that this Blessing Ceremony would offer such things, but it appeared not to be all-encompassing.

In the end, the Blessing Ceremony seemed solely designed for the Heavenly Venerate to milk profits.

"Revolting. Setting up a virtual illusion realm just to collect rents." Song Lin thought to himself.

Others toil tirelessly at cultivation, yet the Heavenly Venerate, that scoundrel, merely lies at home and effortlessly reaps blessings.

But there was no other way. During wartime, everyone had to rely on this platform for transactions.

After a round of inquiries, Song Lin exited the virtual realm.

Back at the Taoist Temple, he continued reflecting on cultivation, contemplating the method for Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Three days later, someone finally reached out to him.

Song Lin returned to the virtual illusion realm.

He immediately recognized the individual—a man wearing a pitch-black mask and dressed inconspicuously.

Song Lin had a deep impression of him, not just because he was part of the same batch, but also due to this fellow’s peculiar name: Loach.

The name was utterly ordinary, yet in this prestigious Blessing Ceremony, where titles like god, demon, venerate, and saint were the norm, this name stood out like a sore thumb.

Upon seeing Song Lin, Loach promptly approached and asked:

"Fellow Taoist, are you purchasing thunderstruck wood and thunder stones? How much do you need?"

"As much as you have, I’ll take it all!"

Not only did he aim to promote the Seven Great Saints into Yang Thunder Captains, but he also intended to increase the ranks of other generals wherever possible.

The cultivation of Yang Thunder Captains equates to Divine Establishment; every additional captain adds another master cultivator to the sect.

"I have plenty—about thirty pounds, I think."

"That much?" Song Lin exclaimed in surprise. That amount would be enough to craft ten Yang Thunder Captains.

Ultimately, the two reached an agreement, with Song Lin spending thirty thousand dharma coins on the transaction.

Dharma coins bear the emblem of their respective sects, so before the exchange, Song Lin deliberately sent Rampant Soldiers to remove the insignia.

The two then used the Void Capturing Technique to trade items.

A Qiankun Cloth Bag materialized out of thin air in the secret chamber. Inside were ample quantities of thunderstruck wood and stones emanating thunder energy.

"Let’s begin the refining!"

Song Lin chuckled, standing up to summon over a dozen Rampant Soldiers and prepare the dharma altar.

He began the process to replicate the creation of Yang Thunder Captains.

Song Lin categorized the Divine Generals into the Three Official Divine Generals: Spirit Official, Earth Official, and Heavenly Official.

Spirit Official Divine Generals were further divided into top-grade and low-grade; Yang Thunder Captains were top-grade Divine Generals, equivalent to Divine Establishment cultivation, while Yellow Turban Warriors were low-grade and corresponded to Qi Refinement.

This marked his second thunder-skill-forged Divine General.

And there would be more generals to follow.

Life is fleeting, and most people can only refine or master one or a few dharma powers.

But Song Lin was different. Heaven had granted him an opportunity—and not just one chance, but countless opportunities—to err, learn, and improve endlessly.

In theory, this meant he could master all Taoist disciplines.

Of course, this was a matter for the future.

Besides cultivation, Song Lin also frequently lectured on Red Dragon Qi Gong and the Heavenly Human Six Seals.

Three days later, the room was ablaze with golden brilliance, thunder energy crisscrossing the air.

Seven figures, resembling grotesque giant Han warriors, finally transformed into camp generals.

"Greetings, Altar Master!"

The Seven Saints were finally forged, and there were now eight Divine Establishment Taoist Soldiers, not to mention the Taoist Temple’s four existing Divine Establishment cultivators.

The Taoist Temple’s roster of experts had reached a peak not seen in its history.

"I’ll go into closed-door cultivation for a while. Follow Shi Yinhua, the Chief Corps, for any instructions, and report to me if there’s anything significant," Song Lin commanded his generals.

The remaining materials were entrusted to Wang Ziyue and Lu Qian for experimentation. Song Lin already knew the process; the leftover portions could simply give his subordinates some practical experience—losses he could afford to bear.

"Understood!"

Having weathered the crisis, Song Lin was finally free to dedicate himself fully to prolonged meditation.

The Taoist Temple continued to progress smoothly, following three directives he had set forth.

The first was recruitment, the second was resource generation, and the third was the Taoist Soldier Transformation Plan. The ultimate goal was to upgrade all thousand-man generals into camp generals and hundred-man generals into Yellow Turban Warriors, continuing this pattern downward.

The first two would serve as foundations for the third.

With this strategy, the Taoist Temple would inevitably thrive; Song Lin merely needed to oversee the process.

For now, he focused on comprehending cultivation techniques while awaiting word from Yun Xiao Merit Officer.

Ever since Fire Cloud had assigned him to Yun Xiao’s ranks, he’d found himself with more leisure.

"Strength truly is the most crucial factor," Song Lin sighed.

He had simultaneously offended Scripture Master Zhao Wuji and Hall Master Heluo; two of the Five Masters against him, with only Scripture Master Chi Hai maintaining a somewhat amicable relationship.

For now, the tense situation prevented them from making overt moves, but petty trouble would be inevitable in the future.

Ultimately, it all came back to insufficient firepower.

Reflecting on this, Song Lin delved deeply into meditative efforts to break through Foundation Establishment.

"Report! Shi, the Chief Corps, has recruited two hundred servant Taoist disciples."

"Report! Our Taoist Temple has three new Qi Cultivating Taoists. Please, temple master, step out to bestow their talismans."

"Report! Evil demons from the north are invading; request permission to deploy Yang Thunder God Generals."

"Permission granted!"

Song Lin refrained from personally intervening; after all, Core Formation-level demons weren’t daily occurrences.

If such threats arose regularly, it would be a near-apocalyptic situation, wiping out ordinary citizens within mere rounds.

This presented a valuable opportunity to temper the cultivators.

"Report! Our Taoist Temple has slain three hundred forty demon beasts, fifty-six Qi Refining demons, and five Divine Establishment demons; none of our cultivators were harmed, though five hundred twenty civilians were killed or injured."

"Understood. Report this to the forest authorities. Oh, and if the demons possessed inner cores, please ensure I receive them." Song Lin instructed, not forgetting his plans to cultivate Dragon Qi.

Over the following days, reports kept arriving.

Song Lin ignored most, offering brief advice when necessary. His conduct increasingly mirrored Jiuyou; the new Taoist disciples hardly even knew of his existence.

After several consecutive battles, Xuanke Temple cultivators endured harsh trials of blood and fire, with Wang Ziyue, Lin Yang, and others achieving Divine Establishment breakthroughs.

At the same time, the temple’s fierce divine weapons earned widespread renown.

Song Lin’s title as "Master of Soldiers and Horses" began to overshadow Zhao Wuji’s faction, drawing the envy and resentment of Lian Wenzhao.

During this time, a long-awaited message from the Merit Officer Token finally arrived.

Song Lin had refrained from exploring new realms during this period, prioritizing the current matter to avoid being spread too thin.

"Received reply—meeting tomorrow at Yin Mountain’s base. Codename: Thunder Striking God’s Birth."

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