A glow like that of the Netherworld Ghost Fire drifted about the pitch-black room.
“Please, Young Master, punish me!”
“This has nothing to do with you.
Gu Min was clever enough to use a few men to probe Shuidong Liu’s combat strength, but the result was still unexpected.”
The old man knelt on the floor, his head bowed.
“Failure is failure!”
“Shuidong Liu must have a secret!”
“Yes, those two fools said the same thing.” The old man’s voice trembled with slight excitement.
“I’ve investigated Shuidong Liu’s life over the years.
He’s had absolutely no time to cultivate.”
“Therefore, it’s highly likely he possesses a Cultivation Technique of the Celestial Level or higher, perhaps even an inheritance.
Once you obtain such a technique, Young Master, you will soar to the heavens!”
The young man, seated and shrouded in darkness, spoke in an even tone, “The great Dynasties only possess Celestial Level Techniques.
Anything above Celestial Level…
where could he have possibly obtained it?”
“Who cares where he got it?
Now that Gu Min is dead, I am willing to act for you, Young Master…”
“No…” the young man said.
“I originally suspected Xiao Yue’Er had discovered something, and that’s why she took an interest in Shuidong Liu.
But from what I saw today…
it seems she genuinely likes him.”
“He’s just the son of a disgraced official.
How is he worthy!?” the young man fumed.
“Young Master, you…” The old man was taken aback.
“It would attract too much attention right now.
Don’t be hasty.
Let me observe for a while before I make a move,” the young man said coldly.
“The more one does, the more tracks one leaves.”
“Yes!”
“You may go.”
The old man turned and departed through the window.
The young man gently toyed with something in his hand, muttering to himself, ‘Just what level of Cultivation Technique allows someone in the Body Refining Realm to fight a master in the Super Body Realm?
It’s simply incredible…’
As he murmured, his gaze grew cold and sharp.
‘It will all be mine.
All of it!’
After seeing Xiao Yue’Er off, Shuidong Liu once again began to cultivate.
Yet, his mind was occupied by his greatest shortcomings from the past two days.
‘My Realm is too low.
I can’t even scale walls or leap across rooftops!’
‘I don’t have any real techniques to speak of!’
Suddenly, he remembered that move—Huo Xiao!
‘Swordsmanship?’
Shuidong Liu vaguely recalled the figure that had drilled into his mind between his brows.
The move it demonstrated felt as though it had been tempered a thousand times, steeped in the passage of ages.
Lost in thought, he was just about to stand up and find something to practice with when Feng Wuqing’s voice came from outside the door.
“Young Master, there’s someone at the gate for you!”
“Who is it, this late at night?”
“Liu Yin, from Luotian Pavilion!”
‘That woman?’
Shuidong Liu frowned deeply.
‘The fight earlier was right outside Luotian Pavilion, yet they kept their gates bolted shut as if they hadn’t heard a thing.’
‘What is she doing here now?’
Though puzzled, Shuidong Liu decided to go out and meet her.
In the main hall, Liu Yin stood dressed in purple.
Beneath the candlelight, her skin seemed to glow, and her every gesture exuded an unmatched charm.
“Master Liu Yin, for you to visit at this hour…”
“A great beauty comes looking for you late at night.
Aren’t you excited?”
Shuidong Liu was taken aback, and even Feng Wuqing was shocked.
‘The way this woman talks…’
“If you have no business here, please leave.
I’m very busy!”
“I know the Second Miss has already returned home.
How could you possibly be busy all by yourself?” Liu Yin said with a smile, swaying her hips as she walked toward Shuidong Liu.
Seeing this, Feng Wuqing hastily retreated, even closing the door behind him.
Shuidong Liu’s expression darkened.
“What exactly are you trying to do?” he asked bluntly.
“Hmph, don’t be ungrateful!” Seeing the door was closed, Liu Yin turned up her delicate nose.
With a wave of her hand, a sword appeared before them.
“I saw you use Swordsmanship earlier, so I brought you a sword!”
Liu Yin said, “Don’t be fooled by the rust spots, making it look like it was picked up from somewhere…
well, it was.
But we once struck it with a Holy Soldier, and it came away completely unscathed!”
“It’s that amazing?”
Shuidong Liu was astonished.
He knew very well that the weapons in this world were categorized into standard-issue, third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, Super Soldiers, and Holy Soldiers…
It was said that the entire Yunlong Dynasty possessed only a single Holy Soldier!
‘Luotian Pavilion is truly extraordinary…
and this sword…’
‘It would be a waste not to take it!’
The moment Shuidong Liu grasped the hilt, a sense of familiarity washed over him, and a brilliant light erupted from the blade.
Liu Yin covered her mouth, watching in disbelief as all the rust vanished within the light.
Soon, a three-foot-long, sharp-edged sword appeared before them.
Inscribed on its blade were indescribable patterns that were completely unintelligible.
“There are words on it!” Liu Yin saw them but couldn’t read them.
“East Wind.”
Shuidong Liu recognized it instantly.
It wasn’t the writing of this world, but the script from his home…
from Earth.
‘This…’
‘Did someone else transmigrate here like me, or what’s going on?’
“Master Shui, you can read these words?” Liu Yin said, taking out a golden leaf.
“Then you should be able to read this…”
“Dongfeng Sword Scripture.”
“You really can read them!
What script is this?”
Shuidong Liu’s eyes widened as he stared at the short passage of nearly a hundred characters on the golden leaf.
“This is just the first move of the Sword Scripture!
Where did you get this?”
In his haste, Shuidong Liu grabbed Liu Yin’s delicate wrist.
She cried out in a coquettish voice, “Ah, you’re hurting me…”
“I’m sorry, it’s just…”
“I don’t know either…
Um, I should go!” Liu Yin clearly had her own secrets and departed in a flurry.
There were some things she couldn’t wait to get back and ask about.
Feng Wuqing entered and looked at Shuidong Liu.
“Young Master, you were…
awfully quick…
huh?
What a fine sword!”
Without a word, Shuidong Liu put away the golden leaf, gripped the sword, and began practicing the first move of the Dongfeng Sword Scripture in the courtyard.
In an instant, his aura shot up like a pillar toward the nine heavens, seeming to pierce the very halo of the moon.
With a flash of the sword, Shuidong Liu appeared twenty meters away in the blink of an eye, startling Feng Wuqing.
“What…
what kind of Swordsmanship is that?”
BOOM!
A decorative rockery twenty meters away exploded into dust.
Feng Wuqing gulped, his throat dry, as a large group of people rushed in from outside.
“Young Master…
what happened…?”
“It’s nothing, nothing!
Just practicing!
I’ll call you if I need you!” Feng Wuqing hurriedly waved them away.
Shuidong Liu now fully understood the power of this Sword Scripture.
It didn’t just boost his combat strength; it also granted incredible speed.
‘Who on earth created this Swordsmanship?
The very first move is already inhumanly powerful.’
After all, even though his body was strong enough to withstand a Fist Force of 30,000 jin from a Super Body Realm expert, no one could maintain that peak output indefinitely.
But with this Sword Scripture, the mere flash of the blade held such power.
He now knew at least two moves: Huo Xiao and “Sword One,” or as it should be called, “Dongfeng-1.”
Meanwhile, inside Luotian Pavilion.
Liu Yin rushed to the highest floor.
“Foster Father, where on earth did that sword and golden leaf come from?”
“What’s wrong?
Did that kid turn his nose up at them?”
“No, he…” For some reason, Liu Yin ultimately chose not to mention the sword’s transformation or the fact that Shuidong Liu could read the script.
The old man said coldly, “Hmph.
He must have disliked them.
People only like exquisite, beautiful things.
A bunch of fools, none of them understand that truly great treasures are often plain and unremarkable!”
“Where exactly did you find them?”
A hint of nostalgia for the past seemed to surface in the old man’s icy gaze, but ultimately, he said nothing.
「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」
The usual bustle of Celestial Fragrance City was completely overshadowed by the public humiliation of the Le Family.
“The rich have no heart!
Pelt them!
Pelt them to death!”
“That venomous snake of a woman!
How dare she deliberately slander Master Shui?
Has she no shame?”
“She’s a common whore, what shame would she have?
Pelt her!”
All sorts of rotten cabbages and foul eggs—things people might normally hesitate to waste—were now being smashed against the family’s faces.
Shuidong Liu hadn’t wanted to come out, but he couldn’t resist Xiao Liang, who had arrived early and used his considerable tonnage to drag him outside.
The members of the Le Family were used to a life of luxury.
How could they possibly endure such a scene?
Le Youcai, dressed in robes as garish as a large red envelope, was already covered in filth and stank to high heaven.
He glared at the Musician beside him.
“You wretched spawn!
You animal!
This is all your fault!
All your fault!”
“I worked my ass off my whole life, so how did I end up siring a cheap slut like you!”
“I went out of my way to have a matchmaker find you a decent, honest man, and you had the fucking nerve to be picky and set rules for him!
You’re a slut who’s been slept with by god knows how many men, where the hell do you get the audacity?”
Le Youcai was consumed by hatred.
He had amassed a huge fortune, but in the end, he was going to die before he could even spend it all.
The Musician kept her head bowed.
Gobs of rotten egg were matted in her hair, dripping down her face in a disgusting stream.
Hearing her father’s curses, she lifted her head and saw…
Shuidong Liu.