The hurt expression on Chen Shuang’s face fills Li Xing with pain and regret, forcing him to come up with an appropriate and impartial explanation for his action.
Trying to downplay what he did, Li Xing says with a smiley face, “The three of us have gone through so much together, even death. If I didn’t come out to help you, who else would?”
A glimmer of hope is seen in the eyes of Chen Shuang who takes a step forward and asks for confirmation, “So you don’t like my sister that way?”
Li Xing can’t find words to reply as he clearly catches Chen Xue’s expectant look, so he half-heartedly repeats, “As what I’ve said, you don’t need to take it seriously.”
With an upset look, Chen Shuang presses him with another question, “But you are my sister were engaged before you were born.”
Seemingly unconcerned, Li Xing says, “When that day comes, as long as Chen Xue rejects me in public, our pre-birth marriage arrangement will be invalid.”
Meanwhile, Chen Xue has kept quiet with a somehow dejected look.
Feeling the need to apologize again, Li Xing says to the two sisters, “Please do forgive me for offending both of you today.” It occurs to him that compared with everything else, the most pressing matter now is how to defeat Wang Yang.
Suddenly, Chen Shuang pulls Li Xing over and walks toward her room in big steps, leaving behind one sentence, “Sister, I need to talk to Li Xing.”
Seeing the two hurrying off, Chen Xue hesitates for a while before taking a sigh and heading back to her room.
Inside Chen Shuang’s room, the girl lashes out at Li Xing, “Why did you lie to me?”
Li Xing is aware that she is referring to the fact the he had been going around as “Zhao Yun”, but he decides to play dumb, asking, “When did I do that?”
Chen Shuang is annoyed by his pretend ignorance, “Are you playing dumb with me on purpose?”
Li Xing explains insincerely, “You just stumbled upon me as ‘Zhao Yun’ back then. Everything that had happened next wasn’t my intention.” Then he adds with his usual grin, “For what it’s worth, ‘Zhao Yun’ has helped you many times, so you should consider forgiving him for one minor deceit.”
Thinking she is powerless to change anything, Chen Shuang lets out a sigh and says, “It’s too late to go back now.” Then she adds seriously, “You must leave Three Chivalries Garden by the end of the day. Take all the fantasy crystals and go as far as you can!”
Knowing that’s not an option, Li Xing asks, “Where should I go?”
“Anywhere you like, as long as it’s a place not controlled by Wang Zi Xing.” Apparently, Chen Shuang’s suggestion for Li Xing to leave is out of her concern for his life, knowing that he will face off Wang Yang in a duel in three months.
Li Xing is filled with warmth realizing that the girl is worried about him, so he says with an assuring smile, “You think I’m a fool? That I really plan on challenging a man with spirit power when I’m still significantly far below him in strength?”
Surprised to hear the confidence in his voice, Chen Shuang asks curiously, “Are you confident that you will beat Wang Yang?”
“Did you forget?” Li Xing keeps smiling while pointing at himself, adding, “I still got some of the elixir left inside me.”
Chen Shuang feels uplifted and says happily, “That’s right! How could I forget about the fantasy elixir and its incredible power? Now I can say for sure that you are definitely going to achieve spirit power within three months.”
Realizing the girl has once again bought his lie, Li Xing chuckles and tells the girl with a comforting tone, “So there is absolutely nothing for you to worry about the duel three months later.”
But uncertainty and concern quickly take over joy as Chen Shuang worries again, “But Wang Yang will definitely come after you and there is no way that Wang Zixing will let you kill his son. You should have never come out in the first place.’
Li Xing follows with a grim laugh, saying, “There’s no other option now. Even if I announced to step out of the duel, do you think Wang Yang would let me off the hook?”
“Is it really worth it for you to rescue my sister and me?” Chen Shuang suddenly asks, with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Smiley and calm as usual, Li Xing says without regret, “I don’t have any friends in Three Chivalries Garden, expect for you and Chen Xue. How is not worth it to help my only friends?”
Before Chen Shuang can speak anything, Li Xing adds, “There months isn’t necessarily enough. So I must go back to practicing. You and Chen Xue had better keep practicing as well. Maybe you will both have a breakthrough.”
Seeing Li Xing walking away, Chen Shuang suddenly burst into tears, muttering, “Do you think you can fool me? I can tell it in your eyes that my sister is different from anyone else to you…” For a long time, the girl is lost in her thought.
Instead of going back to Purple Bamboo Community, Li Xing is soon out of Three Chivalries Garden with quickened steps. It has occurred to him that he has made enemy of both Wang Yang and Three Chivalries Garden, which means that Purple Bamboo Community is no longer safe for him.
On his way, Li Xing manages to send out a secret message and before long, he arrives at a hotel, followed by two faceless brave warriors with level eight blood power who have been trailing him all the way.
Strangely, after entering the hotel, the two warriors find they have lost the trace of Li Xing. After exchanging an anxious look at each other, the two immediately rush to the back of the building to search for him.
But Li Xing is nowhere to be found, as if he had vanished into thin air.
Having succeeded in getting rid of the two stalkers, Li Xing arrives at an ordinary house where the messenger is standing respectfully, reporting, “Young Master, I’m afraid it would be tough this time, If Wang Zixing is determined to get rid of you, no one in Qingyun City will be able to help you.”
“Then I may as well come up with a solution, aren’t I?” Li Xing says calmly.
The messenger cannot help but feel deeply impressed by his ability to maintain calm, thinking, “Young Master truly has the demeanor of a commander who is able to keep a composed mind even in the worst-case scenario.”
After a short pause, Li Xing asks tentatively, “In your opinion, how will Wang Yang deal with me?”
After thinking for a moment, the messenger gives his guess, “Wang Yang is known for his unreasonable behaviors and arrogant manners. He definitely will not tolerate you or give you the chance to fight him. There are several possibilities. Wang Yang will probably send someone to assassinate you, or Three Chivalries Garden may feel pressured to get rid of you itself. It’s also possible that in order to keep his son out of danger, Wang Zixing will take action himself to keep you from getting into that duel.”
Then he suggests, “So it’s imperative that you find a proper hiding place and stay put until three months later. In the meantime, everyone close to you must be taken care of in case they are captured by the enemy and used as bargaining chips.”
Agreeing to what the messenger said, Li Xing nods with satisfaction as a cold look appears in his eyes, “Under the circumstances, all I need to do is improving my strength and reach the level of spirit power!”
With a worried look, the messenger expresses his concern, “But Young Master, I’m afraid that three months is too short for you to reach the first level of spirit power from level six blood power. Normally speaking, most of the talented cultivators would need six to seven years to accomplish that. Unless there is outside help or that person has exceptional aptitude, he would never succeed in that short period of time. And no matter what, he’s definitely going to need a much longer time than three months.” The messenger cannot help but feel worried that Li Xing will eventually not able to match Wang Yang.
Li Xing laughs, saying, “The outcome will be revealed only at the last moment. You just go and take care of Xiaoxiu and Li Hu, and after that, find me a place so that I can concentrate on practicing.”
“Yes!”
Half an hour later, Li Xing is secretly sent out of Qingyun City to a rural house some fifty kilometer away. At the back of the courtyard is a vegetable garden, and beneath of the house is an underground chamber where Li Xing will be staying to practice blood.
At the moment, Li Xing has broken through a large part of his visceral meridians and is on the verge of completing the sixth level of blood practicing.
After sustaining new significant wounds and being healed by the Bead of Nine Yangs, he is glad to find that his constitution has once again improved to a great extent, making his blood practicing process even smoother, as he quickly breaks through the rest of the meridians, including the pulmonary and the biliary meridians.
Meanwhile, inside Xunwu City where Wang Zixing is based.
Wang Zixing controls a total of 35 cities and towns, among which Xuanwu City is the most prosperous and boasts the most high-level marital arts masters. Somewhere in the city erects a large and luxuriously decorated mansion that is the residence of Wang Zixing.
In a side hall of the Wang mansion, Wang Yang pounds on the table in a fit of rage, while several servants stand nearby, all clammed up and with their heads lowered out of fear.
“I want a solution now and I want Li Xing found immediately so that I can slowly torture him until his last breath!” He growls with a savage look in his eyes.
It turns out that three days ago, Wang Yang was tipped off by Li Ying’s informants that Li Xing had disappeared without a trace and that he probably would never show his face again out of fear for his life. The news immediately caused Wang Yang to blow up, making him determined to dig Li Xing out and let him pay for what he did.
Upon receiving the news, Wang Yang swiftly issued an order to all the thirty-five towns and cities governed by his father to hunt Li Xing down. However, three days have passed with no sign of Li Xing being found anywhere.
“You have ten more days! I want Li Xing brought to me in ten days!” Wang Yang issues an ultimatum.
And Wang Yang is not the only one eager to find Li Xing.
Murong Jiaojiao, who is currently living in the residence of Qingyun City’s ruler, calls over a subordinate – a middle-aged man with level three breath power who spied on Li Xing near the gate of Three Chivalries Garden many days back.
“Zhou Ping, where do you think Li Xing is right now?”
The man replies, “No one can reach the first level of spirit power from level six blood power in just three months. It I were him, I would run far, far away.”
“So you think Li Xing has fled?” the princess asks.
Zhou Ping shakes his heads, saying, “On second thought, if he had planned on running away, he wouldn’t have stood up to challenge Wang Yang. So I guess he must be concentrating all his energy to improve his strength somewhere. Maybe, with outside help, he is able to reach level one spirit power.”
Murong Jiaojiao seems to agree as she nods, “I’ve been wondering why Li Xing is so confident about himself. Perhaps, we can find out this time,”
Zhou Ping asks tentatively, “Miss, is there anything you need me to do about this?”
The princess responds, “No. I assume he will be able to handle this considering he has the courage to face off Wang Yang in the first place. If he ended up digging his own grave, it’d be pointless for us to help him because he would just be nothing but a boastful moron.”
Zhou Ping lets out a laugh and follows, “But I remember you said he was an upstanding and righteous man.”
“To be more precious, he may just be an upstanding and righteous fool. But let’s just see whether he can prove he is a fool or not. If Li Xing manages to defeat Wang Yang and survive the duel, he must have reached level one spirit power, which means that he is man with great potential who can achieve that kind of breakthrough in three months. And I’m sure that a man like that is bound to become someone exceptionally remarkable in the future.”
Elsewhere inside Three Chivalries Garden, Chen Xue and Chen Shuang are sitting next to each other. It has been days since the two sisters talked.
“Xiaoshuang, now you know Li Xing is Zhao Yun. Do you still have feelings for him?” Chen Xue breaks the silence by asking.
Chen Shuang sneers and gives a half-hearted comment, “How can I have feelings for a fraud? Apart from being not afraid of death, he has no other redeeming qualities whatsoever!”
“You really think so?” Chen Xue gives her doubt.
Poker-faced, Chen Shuang responds with a question of her own, “How do you feel, sister?”
Chen Xue shakes her head, saying with a wry smile, “I’m not sure. I’m feeling a lot of things.” For someone who used to keep her distance to others, Li Xing’s appearance that day has caused an unprecedented stir in the girl’s heart, as if a stone had suddenly fallen into a silent pond.
Chen Shuang sighs inside, thinking, “If you don’t have feelings for Li Xing, why would your heart be restless?” Then she changes the topic by saying, “Sister, I completed level three blood practicing yesterday.”
Chen Xue returns with a smile, “Me too.” After a pause, she continues, “Xiaoshuang, do you think we will reach spirit power someday?”
Chen Shuang seems to have come up with something, asking, “Sister, let’s take up a bet, okay?”
“What kind of bet?” Chen Xue is intrigued.
“Should one of us fails to reach spirit power first, she will go to Xuanwu City and join the army as a general.”
Becoming an army general means three to five years away from home and no chance of seeing Li Xing any more. In other words, that person will have to give him up to the other.
Chen Xue spends a few minutes contemplating before sighs in agreement with a sad look, “All right.”
On the tenth day after Li Xing moved to his hiding place, he suddenly feels a vibration in his internal organs and hears a roaring sound coming from inside. He realizes he has broken through all his visceral meridians, officially completing the sixth level of blood practicing!
Now, with all of his post-natal meridians broken through, Li Xing feels his body has become much “heavier”. He gently presses his hand on the floor and all of a sudden, the ground shakes violently and caves in by about ten centimeters, leaving the shape of his palm.
“One can only be ranked among the best warriors after he completes level six blood practicing. Finally, I made it!”
The hurt expression on Chen Shuang’s face fills Li Xing with pain and regret, forcing him to come up with an appropriate and impartial explanation for his action.
Trying to downplay what he did, Li Xing says with a smiley face, “The three of us have gone through so much together, even death. If I didn’t come out to help you, who else would?”
A glimmer of hope is seen in the eyes of Chen Shuang who takes a step forward and asks for confirmation, “So you don’t like my sister that way?”
Li Xing can’t find words to reply as he clearly catches Chen Xue’s expectant look, so he half-heartedly repeats, “As what I’ve said, you don’t need to take it seriously.”
With an upset look, Chen Shuang presses him with another question, “But you are my sister were engaged before you were born.”
Seemingly unconcerned, Li Xing says, “When that day comes, as long as Chen Xue rejects me in public, our pre-birth marriage arrangement will be invalid.”
Meanwhile, Chen Xue has kept quiet with a somehow dejected look.
Feeling the need to apologize again, Li Xing says to the two sisters, “Please do forgive me for offending both of you today.” It occurs to him that compared with everything else, the most pressing matter now is how to defeat Wang Yang.
Suddenly, Chen Shuang pulls Li Xing over and walks toward her room in big steps, leaving behind one sentence, “Sister, I need to talk to Li Xing.”
Seeing the two hurrying off, Chen Xue hesitates for a while before taking a sigh and heading back to her room.
Inside Chen Shuang’s room, the girl lashes out at Li Xing, “Why did you lie to me?”
Li Xing is aware that she is referring to the fact the he had been going around as “Zhao Yun”, but he decides to play dumb, asking, “When did I do that?”
Chen Shuang is annoyed by his pretend ignorance, “Are you playing dumb with me on purpose?”
Li Xing explains insincerely, “You just stumbled upon me as ‘Zhao Yun’ back then. Everything that had happened next wasn’t my intention.” Then he adds with his usual grin, “For what it’s worth, ‘Zhao Yun’ has helped you many times, so you should consider forgiving him for one minor deceit.”
Thinking she is powerless to change anything, Chen Shuang lets out a sigh and says, “It’s too late to go back now.” Then she adds seriously, “You must leave Three Chivalries Garden by the end of the day. Take all the fantasy crystals and go as far as you can!”
Knowing that’s not an option, Li Xing asks, “Where should I go?”
“Anywhere you like, as long as it’s a place not controlled by Wang Zi Xing.” Apparently, Chen Shuang’s suggestion for Li Xing to leave is out of her concern for his life, knowing that he will face off Wang Yang in a duel in three months.
Li Xing is filled with warmth realizing that the girl is worried about him, so he says with an assuring smile, “You think I’m a fool? That I really plan on challenging a man with spirit power when I’m still significantly far below him in strength?”
Surprised to hear the confidence in his voice, Chen Shuang asks curiously, “Are you confident that you will beat Wang Yang?”
“Did you forget?” Li Xing keeps smiling while pointing at himself, adding, “I still got some of the elixir left inside me.”
Chen Shuang feels uplifted and says happily, “That’s right! How could I forget about the fantasy elixir and its incredible power? Now I can say for sure that you are definitely going to achieve spirit power within three months.”
Realizing the girl has once again bought his lie, Li Xing chuckles and tells the girl with a comforting tone, “So there is absolutely nothing for you to worry about the duel three months later.”
But uncertainty and concern quickly take over joy as Chen Shuang worries again, “But Wang Yang will definitely come after you and there is no way that Wang Zixing will let you kill his son. You should have never come out in the first place.’
Li Xing follows with a grim laugh, saying, “There’s no other option now. Even if I announced to step out of the duel, do you think Wang Yang would let me off the hook?”
“Is it really worth it for you to rescue my sister and me?” Chen Shuang suddenly asks, with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Smiley and calm as usual, Li Xing says without regret, “I don’t have any friends in Three Chivalries Garden, expect for you and Chen Xue. How is not worth it to help my only friends?”
Before Chen Shuang can speak anything, Li Xing adds, “There months isn’t necessarily enough. So I must go back to practicing. You and Chen Xue had better keep practicing as well. Maybe you will both have a breakthrough.”
Seeing Li Xing walking away, Chen Shuang suddenly burst into tears, muttering, “Do you think you can fool me? I can tell it in your eyes that my sister is different from anyone else to you…” For a long time, the girl is lost in her thought.
Instead of going back to Purple Bamboo Community, Li Xing is soon out of Three Chivalries Garden with quickened steps. It has occurred to him that he has made enemy of both Wang Yang and Three Chivalries Garden, which means that Purple Bamboo Community is no longer safe for him.
On his way, Li Xing manages to send out a secret message and before long, he arrives at a hotel, followed by two faceless brave warriors with level eight blood power who have been trailing him all the way.
Strangely, after entering the hotel, the two warriors find they have lost the trace of Li Xing. After exchanging an anxious look at each other, the two immediately rush to the back of the building to search for him.
But Li Xing is nowhere to be found, as if he had vanished into thin air.
Having succeeded in getting rid of the two stalkers, Li Xing arrives at an ordinary house where the messenger is standing respectfully, reporting, “Young Master, I’m afraid it would be tough this time, If Wang Zixing is determined to get rid of you, no one in Qingyun City will be able to help you.”
“Then I may as well come up with a solution, aren’t I?” Li Xing says calmly.
The messenger cannot help but feel deeply impressed by his ability to maintain calm, thinking, “Young Master truly has the demeanor of a commander who is able to keep a composed mind even in the worst-case scenario.”
After a short pause, Li Xing asks tentatively, “In your opinion, how will Wang Yang deal with me?”
After thinking for a moment, the messenger gives his guess, “Wang Yang is known for his unreasonable behaviors and arrogant manners. He definitely will not tolerate you or give you the chance to fight him. There are several possibilities. Wang Yang will probably send someone to assassinate you, or Three Chivalries Garden may feel pressured to get rid of you itself. It’s also possible that in order to keep his son out of danger, Wang Zixing will take action himself to keep you from getting into that duel.”
Then he suggests, “So it’s imperative that you find a proper hiding place and stay put until three months later. In the meantime, everyone close to you must be taken care of in case they are captured by the enemy and used as bargaining chips.”
Agreeing to what the messenger said, Li Xing nods with satisfaction as a cold look appears in his eyes, “Under the circumstances, all I need to do is improving my strength and reach the level of spirit power!”
With a worried look, the messenger expresses his concern, “But Young Master, I’m afraid that three months is too short for you to reach the first level of spirit power from level six blood power. Normally speaking, most of the talented cultivators would need six to seven years to accomplish that. Unless there is outside help or that person has exceptional aptitude, he would never succeed in that short period of time. And no matter what, he’s definitely going to need a much longer time than three months.” The messenger cannot help but feel worried that Li Xing will eventually not able to match Wang Yang.
Li Xing laughs, saying, “The outcome will be revealed only at the last moment. You just go and take care of Xiaoxiu and Li Hu, and after that, find me a place so that I can concentrate on practicing.”
“Yes!”
Half an hour later, Li Xing is secretly sent out of Qingyun City to a rural house some fifty kilometer away. At the back of the courtyard is a vegetable garden, and beneath of the house is an underground chamber where Li Xing will be staying to practice blood.
At the moment, Li Xing has broken through a large part of his visceral meridians and is on the verge of completing the sixth level of blood practicing.
After sustaining new significant wounds and being healed by the Bead of Nine Yangs, he is glad to find that his constitution has once again improved to a great extent, making his blood practicing process even smoother, as he quickly breaks through the rest of the meridians, including the pulmonary and the biliary meridians.
Meanwhile, inside Xunwu City where Wang Zixing is based.
Wang Zixing controls a total of 35 cities and towns, among which Xuanwu City is the most prosperous and boasts the most high-level marital arts masters. Somewhere in the city erects a large and luxuriously decorated mansion that is the residence of Wang Zixing.
In a side hall of the Wang mansion, Wang Yang pounds on the table in a fit of rage, while several servants stand nearby, all clammed up and with their heads lowered out of fear.
“I want a solution now and I want Li Xing found immediately so that I can slowly torture him until his last breath!” He growls with a savage look in his eyes.
It turns out that three days ago, Wang Yang was tipped off by Li Ying’s informants that Li Xing had disappeared without a trace and that he probably would never show his face again out of fear for his life. The news immediately caused Wang Yang to blow up, making him determined to dig Li Xing out and let him pay for what he did.
Upon receiving the news, Wang Yang swiftly issued an order to all the thirty-five towns and cities governed by his father to hunt Li Xing down. However, three days have passed with no sign of Li Xing being found anywhere.
“You have ten more days! I want Li Xing brought to me in ten days!” Wang Yang issues an ultimatum.
And Wang Yang is not the only one eager to find Li Xing.
Murong Jiaojiao, who is currently living in the residence of Qingyun City’s ruler, calls over a subordinate – a middle-aged man with level three breath power who spied on Li Xing near the gate of Three Chivalries Garden many days back.
“Zhou Ping, where do you think Li Xing is right now?”
The man replies, “No one can reach the first level of spirit power from level six blood power in just three months. It I were him, I would run far, far away.”
“So you think Li Xing has fled?” the princess asks.
Zhou Ping shakes his heads, saying, “On second thought, if he had planned on running away, he wouldn’t have stood up to challenge Wang Yang. So I guess he must be concentrating all his energy to improve his strength somewhere. Maybe, with outside help, he is able to reach level one spirit power.”
Murong Jiaojiao seems to agree as she nods, “I’ve been wondering why Li Xing is so confident about himself. Perhaps, we can find out this time,”
Zhou Ping asks tentatively, “Miss, is there anything you need me to do about this?”
The princess responds, “No. I assume he will be able to handle this considering he has the courage to face off Wang Yang in the first place. If he ended up digging his own grave, it’d be pointless for us to help him because he would just be nothing but a boastful moron.”
Zhou Ping lets out a laugh and follows, “But I remember you said he was an upstanding and righteous man.”
“To be more precious, he may just be an upstanding and righteous fool. But let’s just see whether he can prove he is a fool or not. If Li Xing manages to defeat Wang Yang and survive the duel, he must have reached level one spirit power, which means that he is man with great potential who can achieve that kind of breakthrough in three months. And I’m sure that a man like that is bound to become someone exceptionally remarkable in the future.”
Elsewhere inside Three Chivalries Garden, Chen Xue and Chen Shuang are sitting next to each other. It has been days since the two sisters talked.
“Xiaoshuang, now you know Li Xing is Zhao Yun. Do you still have feelings for him?” Chen Xue breaks the silence by asking.
Chen Shuang sneers and gives a half-hearted comment, “How can I have feelings for a fraud? Apart from being not afraid of death, he has no other redeeming qualities whatsoever!”
“You really think so?” Chen Xue gives her doubt.
Poker-faced, Chen Shuang responds with a question of her own, “How do you feel, sister?”
Chen Xue shakes her head, saying with a wry smile, “I’m not sure. I’m feeling a lot of things.” For someone who used to keep her distance to others, Li Xing’s appearance that day has caused an unprecedented stir in the girl’s heart, as if a stone had suddenly fallen into a silent pond.
Chen Shuang sighs inside, thinking, “If you don’t have feelings for Li Xing, why would your heart be restless?” Then she changes the topic by saying, “Sister, I completed level three blood practicing yesterday.”
Chen Xue returns with a smile, “Me too.” After a pause, she continues, “Xiaoshuang, do you think we will reach spirit power someday?”
Chen Shuang seems to have come up with something, asking, “Sister, let’s take up a bet, okay?”
“What kind of bet?” Chen Xue is intrigued.
“Should one of us fails to reach spirit power first, she will go to Xuanwu City and join the army as a general.”
Becoming an army general means three to five years away from home and no chance of seeing Li Xing any more. In other words, that person will have to give him up to the other.
Chen Xue spends a few minutes contemplating before sighs in agreement with a sad look, “All right.”
On the tenth day after Li Xing moved to his hiding place, he suddenly feels a vibration in his internal organs and hears a roaring sound coming from inside. He realizes he has broken through all his visceral meridians, officially completing the sixth level of blood practicing!
Now, with all of his post-natal meridians broken through, Li Xing feels his body has become much “heavier”. He gently presses his hand on the floor and all of a sudden, the ground shakes violently and caves in by about ten centimeters, leaving the shape of his palm.
“One can only be ranked among the best warriors after he completes level six blood practicing. Finally, I made it!”
