Xiaoxiu pulls open the drapes and steps out with an ice-cold response, “Second Elder Master is resting and doesn’t allow visitors.”
Li Yuan, on second thought, tries to cozy up to the girl with a smile, “Xiaoxiu. I brought wine for Second Elder Master.” As he says, he continues his steps on the stairs.
Xiaoxiu lashes out at him, “Stop! How dare you barge into Second Elder Master’s residence?”
Her words make Li Yuan freeze immediately. The second generation of the Li family, such as Li Fei and Li Jie, may not know the power Li Ziran used to have, but Li Yuan is well aware of everything about him. So the second Xiaoxiu reminded him of Li Ziran, Li Yuan balks and no longer dares to transgress.
Li Yuan laughs and sets the wine jars on the ground, trying to persuade the girl, “Xiaoxiu, I haven’t seen Second Elder Master for so long. Could you please report my visit?”
Xiaoxiu answered impatiently, “Second Elder Master won’t see anyone. You’d better leave right away.”
Li Yuan finds himself annoyed by the fact that although he is the butler of the Li Family, he has no power over a servant from Purple Bamboo Community like Xiaoxiu, because everyone knows that Purple Bamboo Community is an independent place in Three Chivalries Garden.
Although he resents his powerlessness, Li Yuan keeps smiling, “Xiaoxiu, is there a way you can make an exception?” He moves his feet a little and tries to sneak a peek. There, through the bamboo drapes, he catches a vague sight of a man sitting in a chair with his back turned to him.
Li Yuan can recognize Li Ziran’s back, so he is able to tell the man inside is him.
Feeling a little deterred, Li Yuan says loudly, “Second Elder Master, I come to visit you with two jars of good wine.”
The man sitting there is none other than Li Xing who has changed into Li Ziran’s clothes as pretence.
Hearing what Li Yuan said, Li Xing tightens his throat and suddenly make himself sounds exactly like Li Ziran, whose cold voice can be clearly heard saying, “Has my brother found out the truth after all?”
To Li Yuan, this sentence is just like a bomb exploding in his ears. He instinctively lowers his body and kneels on the ground, muttering, “Second Elder Master!”
“Li Ziran” sneers, “Li Yuan, I heard my brother now has level two breath power. Good for him!”
When Li Ying first became the head of the family, he had just completed the highest level of blood practicing. Now after over ten years, he has already reached level two breath power.
Li Yuan feels dread building up inside, “Is he going to confront Elder Master by asking me that?” The thought of Li Ying usurped Li Ziran’s position in the family makes Li Yuan shudder, because even if Li Ziran remained drunken for a hundred years, he still has level three breath power.
A higher-level breath power makes a person much stronger, not to mention the fact that Li Ziran already reached that level over ten years ago.
“First Elder Master has been concerned about you all the time.”
“Really? So he sent you to find out whether I want to have my position back?” “Li Ziran” asks with derision.
Li Yuan, flabbergasted, doesn’t know how to respond. Even though he is the butler of the Li family and has level eight blood power, he feels dwarfed and powerless in front of “Li Ziran”.
“Go back and tell my brother that I have no interest in being the head of the Li family,” “Li Ziran” says indifferently.
Hearing his words, Li Yuan barely dares to take another look at his back, so he bows submissively and takes his leave.
Realizing Li Yuan is gone, Li Xing breathes a long sigh of relief, but he keeps his pose for another hour before getting up and changing into his own clothes.
At Lingxiao Building, Li Ying seems to be gripped by a sense of gloom and doom, clearly upset by the fact that Li Ziran is actually sober,
“He said he had no interest in taking charge of the family?” Li Ying asks with his eyes squinted and his right fist clenched.
After assessing the situation for a moment, Li Yuan ventures, “I have an idea.”
“Go ahead!” Li Ying slightly turns around at Li Yuan.
He continues, “Although I myself haven’t started practicing breath, I’m aware that if one wants to break through after reaching level three breath power, he must overcome all his inner troubles.”
Enlightened by what he said, Li Ying says with a doubtful look on his face, “You mean Li Ziran has conquered the demons of love?”
Li Yuan nods, “After Li Ziran reached the third level of breath power, he deliberately let himself embroiled in romance, so he actually has spent all these years trying to unburden himself with love in order to reach a higher level in practice.”
With his eyes blinking in disbelief, Li Ying says, “If that’s the case, he could have already moved beyond level three breath power! That’s impossible!”
“But if that’s not the case, why Li Ziran said he had no interest in taking back his position of the family? Most of the level three breath power masters have bigger aspirations than ordinary people and would spend the rest of their lives wandering the world in search for new breakthroughs…”
“You can stop now.” Li Ying interrupts Li Yuan. “If what you are saying is true, I don’t have to consider Li Ziran as a threat. But I’m just worried that he may have been holding a grudge against me these years.”
Li Yuan echoes with a sigh, “Someone found the dead bodies of the two men from the penalty chamber outside the city. I guess that might be Li Ziran’s doing. He probably will hold Elder Master accountable for Zhang Zhong’s death.”
Li Ying sniffs, “Even though I had Zhang Zhong killed, I doubt he will reckon with me. Even if he decides to confront me, I will have a letter sent to Qiyun Sect for backup.”
“Elder Master, what are we going to do now?”
After contemplating the reality, Li Ying makes a decision, “Now that he is sober, we might as well resume supplying to Purple Bamboo Community as we used to.”
“Do we need someone to keep an eye on Purple Bamboo Community?”
“No need. That will risk provoking him. Soon enough I will find out what he is really up to. I need to make sure whether he is after something or not.”
On the afternoon, Li Yuan leads dozens of servants to Purple Bamboo Community, startling Xiaoxiu and Li Hu who at first think Li Yuan is coming to visit Li Ziran again. But expectedly to both, Li Yuan orders the servants to drop the fabric, utensils and allowances and takes off right away.
Obviously baffled by what just happened, Xiaoxiu looks at the courtyard full of beddings, wine, silver utensils, satin and money, until Li Xing slowly steps out of the bamboo house and says, “Don’t just stand there. Move these things inside the house now.”
Both Li Hu and Xiaoxiu come to their senses and follow his order immediately by moving everything to the house and stacking them up.
Xiaoxiu is very excited, and after finishing moving, she walks up to Li Xing merrily, “Young Master, we don’t have to worry about food or clothing any more!”
Li Xing also smiles as he tries to comprehend Li Ying intention – either that he is trying to reconcile, or that he wants Li Ziran to let down his guard.
At night, Li Hu quickly finishes his meal along with Li Xing and Xiaoxiu and rushes off to practice blood, even more motivated than Li Xing.
Since he decided to leave the stone cottage to Li Hu, Li Xing has moved to the bamboo house and has lately been practicing there. As he prepares to practice after supper, he hears Xiaoxiu let out a sigh.
Li Xing looks at the girl with curiosity and asks with a smile, “Xiaoxiu, what’s wrong?”
Xiaoxiu’s head droops and with a defeated tone, she says, “Young Master, both you and Li Hu are able to practice blood. Only I’m the most incapable person to practice.”
Knowing the girl’s frustration, Li Xing starts pondering, “I was able to help Li Hu. Maybe I can also help Xiaoxiu as well. But do I really have to injury her and then use the bead on her?”
Without further thinking, Li Xing realizes that is not an option. He can’t use force on a girl like Xiaoxiu, and besides, he needs to keep the bead a secret, which means he has to come up with a perfect solution.
Li Xing smiles and comforts the girl, “Don’t worry. You are still young. Maybe someday you will be able to practice, too.”
Xiaoxiu brightens with hope, “Are you sure, Young Master?”
Li Xing nods his head convincingly, “Look at Li Hu and me, either of us was able to practice before.”
Xiaoxiu also nods in earnest, saying, “I understand, Young Master. I will try my best.”
With that, Xiaoxiu walks out of the building so that she wouldn’t disturb Li Xing.
Li Xing has already reached level three blood power and possesses thunder force after training himself the ultimate martial art. And now he is trying to reach the fourth level of blood power.
That means he has to break through all his skeletal meridians first.
There is a hindrance between level three and level four, which has seen many cultivators stumped. So is practicing breath power. The hurdle between level three and level four is so insurmountable that a majority of cultivators have failed to succeed.
The meridians in one’s skeletons are called the skeletal meridians which are even difficult to break through than dermal, muscular and sinewy meridians. Every time a part of the skeletal meridians is broken through, one’s bones will become hard like steel and the person will see his strength double at three thousand kilos!
Moreover, once all the skeletal meridians are broken through, one will be able to bend his bones as he wants, which will help him in an amazing way while demonstrating his martial art capabilities and even enables him to make his bone shrink.
At the moment, Li Xing is steering his blood essence out of his veins, first to the dermal meridians, then pass the muscular meridians and the sinewy meridians, and finally to the skeletal meridians.
He can easily sense his skeletal meridians and doesn’t feel any pain while trying to bring his blood essence through. Unfortunately, after he successfully breaks through a small part of his skeletal meridians, the pain comes.
Li Xing stops immediately and realizes that he must continue to improve his constitution, or it will be impossible to reach level four blood power.
There are only a dozen days or so left before he faces off with Li Jie and has the chance to win a spot. If Li Xing fails to reach level four blood power, he will be unqualified for competition.
Therefore, he must reach level four whatever the cost.
“I may as well stop here today and figure out what to do tomorrow.” Back-to-back practice sections have strained Li Xing’s body, so he decides to relax altogether and enjoy a good night of sleep.
The next morning, Li Xing is out of Purple Bamboo Community.
Before he left, he already came up with a way to get himself wounded.
In Qingyun city, there is a place frequented by those from the upper class, which is called Heaven Flagrance House.
More than a restaurant, this place is more famous for its wide array of women aged between twelve to thirty-two years old at the service of the patrons, which has made it a well-known place along with its wine and food.
Able to rearrange his facial muscles to conceal his identity, Li Xing struts in the building with a changed face. Immediately a busboy hurries forward, eager to wait on him, “Mister, please come in.”
Li Xing put on fine satin this morning before he went out to make himself look like someone from a wealthy family. He flips his sleeves and shouts in a rude manner, “Bring me the best wine and food, and the best girls!”
Heaven Fragrance House is no ordinary brothel, and its patrons are all well respected names in the city. Li Xing’s yell immediately attracts a lot of attention the moment he steps in the lobby.
Everyone there is looking at him with disdain, because any respectable person in Heaven Fragrance House would never clamor or act rudely as Li Xing does.
The busboy who ushered Li Xing in also seems to be surprised, and replies in a hurry, “Mister, please follow me to one of our best rooms.”
Xiaoxiu pulls open the drapes and steps out with an ice-cold response, “Second Elder Master is resting and doesn’t allow visitors.”
Li Yuan, on second thought, tries to cozy up to the girl with a smile, “Xiaoxiu. I brought wine for Second Elder Master.” As he says, he continues his steps on the stairs.
Xiaoxiu lashes out at him, “Stop! How dare you barge into Second Elder Master’s residence?”
Her words make Li Yuan freeze immediately. The second generation of the Li family, such as Li Fei and Li Jie, may not know the power Li Ziran used to have, but Li Yuan is well aware of everything about him. So the second Xiaoxiu reminded him of Li Ziran, Li Yuan balks and no longer dares to transgress.
Li Yuan laughs and sets the wine jars on the ground, trying to persuade the girl, “Xiaoxiu, I haven’t seen Second Elder Master for so long. Could you please report my visit?”
Xiaoxiu answered impatiently, “Second Elder Master won’t see anyone. You’d better leave right away.”
Li Yuan finds himself annoyed by the fact that although he is the butler of the Li Family, he has no power over a servant from Purple Bamboo Community like Xiaoxiu, because everyone knows that Purple Bamboo Community is an independent place in Three Chivalries Garden.
Although he resents his powerlessness, Li Yuan keeps smiling, “Xiaoxiu, is there a way you can make an exception?” He moves his feet a little and tries to sneak a peek. There, through the bamboo drapes, he catches a vague sight of a man sitting in a chair with his back turned to him.
Li Yuan can recognize Li Ziran’s back, so he is able to tell the man inside is him.
Feeling a little deterred, Li Yuan says loudly, “Second Elder Master, I come to visit you with two jars of good wine.”
The man sitting there is none other than Li Xing who has changed into Li Ziran’s clothes as pretence.
Hearing what Li Yuan said, Li Xing tightens his throat and suddenly make himself sounds exactly like Li Ziran, whose cold voice can be clearly heard saying, “Has my brother found out the truth after all?”
To Li Yuan, this sentence is just like a bomb exploding in his ears. He instinctively lowers his body and kneels on the ground, muttering, “Second Elder Master!”
“Li Ziran” sneers, “Li Yuan, I heard my brother now has level two breath power. Good for him!”
When Li Ying first became the head of the family, he had just completed the highest level of blood practicing. Now after over ten years, he has already reached level two breath power.
Li Yuan feels dread building up inside, “Is he going to confront Elder Master by asking me that?” The thought of Li Ying usurped Li Ziran’s position in the family makes Li Yuan shudder, because even if Li Ziran remained drunken for a hundred years, he still has level three breath power.
A higher-level breath power makes a person much stronger, not to mention the fact that Li Ziran already reached that level over ten years ago.
“First Elder Master has been concerned about you all the time.”
“Really? So he sent you to find out whether I want to have my position back?” “Li Ziran” asks with derision.
Li Yuan, flabbergasted, doesn’t know how to respond. Even though he is the butler of the Li family and has level eight blood power, he feels dwarfed and powerless in front of “Li Ziran”.
“Go back and tell my brother that I have no interest in being the head of the Li family,” “Li Ziran” says indifferently.
Hearing his words, Li Yuan barely dares to take another look at his back, so he bows submissively and takes his leave.
Realizing Li Yuan is gone, Li Xing breathes a long sigh of relief, but he keeps his pose for another hour before getting up and changing into his own clothes.
At Lingxiao Building, Li Ying seems to be gripped by a sense of gloom and doom, clearly upset by the fact that Li Ziran is actually sober,
“He said he had no interest in taking charge of the family?” Li Ying asks with his eyes squinted and his right fist clenched.
After assessing the situation for a moment, Li Yuan ventures, “I have an idea.”
“Go ahead!” Li Ying slightly turns around at Li Yuan.
He continues, “Although I myself haven’t started practicing breath, I’m aware that if one wants to break through after reaching level three breath power, he must overcome all his inner troubles.”
Enlightened by what he said, Li Ying says with a doubtful look on his face, “You mean Li Ziran has conquered the demons of love?”
Li Yuan nods, “After Li Ziran reached the third level of breath power, he deliberately let himself embroiled in romance, so he actually has spent all these years trying to unburden himself with love in order to reach a higher level in practice.”
With his eyes blinking in disbelief, Li Ying says, “If that’s the case, he could have already moved beyond level three breath power! That’s impossible!”
“But if that’s not the case, why Li Ziran said he had no interest in taking back his position of the family? Most of the level three breath power masters have bigger aspirations than ordinary people and would spend the rest of their lives wandering the world in search for new breakthroughs…”
“You can stop now.” Li Ying interrupts Li Yuan. “If what you are saying is true, I don’t have to consider Li Ziran as a threat. But I’m just worried that he may have been holding a grudge against me these years.”
Li Yuan echoes with a sigh, “Someone found the dead bodies of the two men from the penalty chamber outside the city. I guess that might be Li Ziran’s doing. He probably will hold Elder Master accountable for Zhang Zhong’s death.”
Li Ying sniffs, “Even though I had Zhang Zhong killed, I doubt he will reckon with me. Even if he decides to confront me, I will have a letter sent to Qiyun Sect for backup.”
“Elder Master, what are we going to do now?”
After contemplating the reality, Li Ying makes a decision, “Now that he is sober, we might as well resume supplying to Purple Bamboo Community as we used to.”
“Do we need someone to keep an eye on Purple Bamboo Community?”
“No need. That will risk provoking him. Soon enough I will find out what he is really up to. I need to make sure whether he is after something or not.”
On the afternoon, Li Yuan leads dozens of servants to Purple Bamboo Community, startling Xiaoxiu and Li Hu who at first think Li Yuan is coming to visit Li Ziran again. But expectedly to both, Li Yuan orders the servants to drop the fabric, utensils and allowances and takes off right away.
Obviously baffled by what just happened, Xiaoxiu looks at the courtyard full of beddings, wine, silver utensils, satin and money, until Li Xing slowly steps out of the bamboo house and says, “Don’t just stand there. Move these things inside the house now.”
Both Li Hu and Xiaoxiu come to their senses and follow his order immediately by moving everything to the house and stacking them up.
Xiaoxiu is very excited, and after finishing moving, she walks up to Li Xing merrily, “Young Master, we don’t have to worry about food or clothing any more!”
Li Xing also smiles as he tries to comprehend Li Ying intention – either that he is trying to reconcile, or that he wants Li Ziran to let down his guard.
At night, Li Hu quickly finishes his meal along with Li Xing and Xiaoxiu and rushes off to practice blood, even more motivated than Li Xing.
Since he decided to leave the stone cottage to Li Hu, Li Xing has moved to the bamboo house and has lately been practicing there. As he prepares to practice after supper, he hears Xiaoxiu let out a sigh.
Li Xing looks at the girl with curiosity and asks with a smile, “Xiaoxiu, what’s wrong?”
Xiaoxiu’s head droops and with a defeated tone, she says, “Young Master, both you and Li Hu are able to practice blood. Only I’m the most incapable person to practice.”
Knowing the girl’s frustration, Li Xing starts pondering, “I was able to help Li Hu. Maybe I can also help Xiaoxiu as well. But do I really have to injury her and then use the bead on her?”
Without further thinking, Li Xing realizes that is not an option. He can’t use force on a girl like Xiaoxiu, and besides, he needs to keep the bead a secret, which means he has to come up with a perfect solution.
Li Xing smiles and comforts the girl, “Don’t worry. You are still young. Maybe someday you will be able to practice, too.”
Xiaoxiu brightens with hope, “Are you sure, Young Master?”
Li Xing nods his head convincingly, “Look at Li Hu and me, either of us was able to practice before.”
Xiaoxiu also nods in earnest, saying, “I understand, Young Master. I will try my best.”
With that, Xiaoxiu walks out of the building so that she wouldn’t disturb Li Xing.
Li Xing has already reached level three blood power and possesses thunder force after training himself the ultimate martial art. And now he is trying to reach the fourth level of blood power.
That means he has to break through all his skeletal meridians first.
There is a hindrance between level three and level four, which has seen many cultivators stumped. So is practicing breath power. The hurdle between level three and level four is so insurmountable that a majority of cultivators have failed to succeed.
The meridians in one’s skeletons are called the skeletal meridians which are even difficult to break through than dermal, muscular and sinewy meridians. Every time a part of the skeletal meridians is broken through, one’s bones will become hard like steel and the person will see his strength double at three thousand kilos!
Moreover, once all the skeletal meridians are broken through, one will be able to bend his bones as he wants, which will help him in an amazing way while demonstrating his martial art capabilities and even enables him to make his bone shrink.
At the moment, Li Xing is steering his blood essence out of his veins, first to the dermal meridians, then pass the muscular meridians and the sinewy meridians, and finally to the skeletal meridians.
He can easily sense his skeletal meridians and doesn’t feel any pain while trying to bring his blood essence through. Unfortunately, after he successfully breaks through a small part of his skeletal meridians, the pain comes.
Li Xing stops immediately and realizes that he must continue to improve his constitution, or it will be impossible to reach level four blood power.
There are only a dozen days or so left before he faces off with Li Jie and has the chance to win a spot. If Li Xing fails to reach level four blood power, he will be unqualified for competition.
Therefore, he must reach level four whatever the cost.
“I may as well stop here today and figure out what to do tomorrow.” Back-to-back practice sections have strained Li Xing’s body, so he decides to relax altogether and enjoy a good night of sleep.
The next morning, Li Xing is out of Purple Bamboo Community.
Before he left, he already came up with a way to get himself wounded.
In Qingyun city, there is a place frequented by those from the upper class, which is called Heaven Flagrance House.
More than a restaurant, this place is more famous for its wide array of women aged between twelve to thirty-two years old at the service of the patrons, which has made it a well-known place along with its wine and food.
Able to rearrange his facial muscles to conceal his identity, Li Xing struts in the building with a changed face. Immediately a busboy hurries forward, eager to wait on him, “Mister, please come in.”
Li Xing put on fine satin this morning before he went out to make himself look like someone from a wealthy family. He flips his sleeves and shouts in a rude manner, “Bring me the best wine and food, and the best girls!”
Heaven Fragrance House is no ordinary brothel, and its patrons are all well respected names in the city. Li Xing’s yell immediately attracts a lot of attention the moment he steps in the lobby.
Everyone there is looking at him with disdain, because any respectable person in Heaven Fragrance House would never clamor or act rudely as Li Xing does.
The busboy who ushered Li Xing in also seems to be surprised, and replies in a hurry, “Mister, please follow me to one of our best rooms.”
