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Uncle Zhao smiled and said, "Brother Sheng has been secretly practicing martial arts since he was a child. He’s still strong, so the head of the family doesn’t need to worry."
He continued, "I didn’t expect Brother Sheng to be so powerful. Those two villains—masters I chased in my youth—ended up dying by his hands. I never imagined they’d meet their end like this after all these years." He had seen the wounds himself. The two had clearly died from the Heart-Rending Palm. What puzzled him was when Brother Sheng had learned the technique—and how powerful his mastery truly was. After all, the depth of this skill couldn’t be judged by appearance alone.
"That’s good to hear," Lu Quanan nodded. "Let things be for now. Let him rest, and continue his martial practice in Yanshan City."
Second Mother spoke softly, "Little Sheng’s skills… If he didn’t have a genuine love for martial arts—or even an obsession—he could never have progressed so quickly or so well. This is a good thing. I believe Little Sheng will be happy to hear our support."
Lu Quanan waved his hand. "Alright, alright. It was just a false alarm. Everyone, return to your business. Xiaoqing, reflect on your actions. Don’t go out for a while—just stay at home!"
With that, he put her under house arrest.
"Oh..." Lu Qingqing lowered her head. She had truly been frightened this time. If her elder brother had arrived just a moment later, the consequences would have been unimaginable. She needed time to recover, both physically and emotionally.
…………
Word of Lu Qingqing’s ordeal soon spread throughout the Lu Mansion—and beyond, reaching the other families in Jiulian City.
Lu Sheng’s reputation as a martial arts fanatic grew rapidly. These days, few still remembered the Ghost Head Guillotine Blade brothers. What people did remember was that Lu Sheng, along with his sister, had taken down several dangerous wanted criminals—and even killed some of them.
His name suddenly surged in popularity.
Within the mansion, people began looking at him differently. This was no ordinary young master—he was someone who had killed men with high bounties on their heads.
And everyone knew: anyone wanted by the authorities yet still at large was no easy opponent.
"This is normal," Lu Qingqing said casually, sitting in Lu Sheng’s room. She swung her legs as she slowly chewed an apple.
The recent trauma of nearly losing her virginity had changed her. She no longer roamed the streets as she used to.
Instead, she often ran to Lu Sheng’s room, trying to persuade him to investigate the Xu family’s tragedy together.
"The people in the Lu Mansion now—except for you, brother, and Uncle Zhao’s martial arts masters—the rest of the guards have probably never even seen blood," she said with a hint of frustration. "These servants used to look at me the same way."
She seemed resigned to it.
"Speaking of which, if the master and the senior brothers knew I had such a powerful brother like you, I wonder what their expressions would be. It’s fun to imagine!" Lu Qingqing laughed.
Lu Sheng held a brush in his hand, slowly practicing calligraphy.
"Brother Xu’s case must be investigated. But not now," he said in a low, steady voice.
"Brother Xu… died miserably!" Lu Qingqing’s eyes reddened at the thought.
"Don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of this sooner or later." Lu Sheng put down his brush and looked at the large character “忍” (Endure) written on the paper.
The recent fight against the two Tongli masters had shown him his limits.
Each Tongli-level master was a formidable figure with unique, powerful skills—far beyond ordinary practitioners.
Although he had practiced the Black Tiger Saber Techniques Technique and the Heart-Rending Palm to their highest levels through the modifier, facing two opponents was never a simple matter of doubling strength.
When two Tongli masters worked together, the effect was greater than the sum of their parts. Energy consumption doubled compared to fighting just one.
If there had been a third Tongli master with even better coordination, he might have been defeated this time.
Lu Sheng thought quietly.
He had won, but it was a narrow victory. In the end, his sword was broken, and he was injured in several places.
"It’s still too weak..." Lu Sheng muttered, his brow furrowed. "In the Xu family tragedy, there were at least four guards alone. Add to that so many servants—killed silently overnight. To pull that off… the skill behind it is chilling to even think about."
The thought made him realize his preparations were far from enough. He needed greater power—stronger martial arts.
Suddenly, Lu Qingqing waved her hand in front of him with a hopeful smile. "Brother, what are you thinking about? Do you want to go shopping with me?"
Since her rescue, she had become a different person around Lu Sheng—calmer, gentler, more feminine.
Lu Sheng didn’t answer right away. Instead, he asked, "Qingqing, do you know about internal energy?"
"Internal energy? I’ve heard of it from my master," she nodded. "Masters of internal skills are different from those of us who practice external skills. It takes a long time and progress is slow. Usually, without three to five years of experience, you’re no different from an ordinary person. Brother, why do you ask?"
"Does your master know anyone skilled in internal arts?" Lu Sheng asked quietly.
Unable to find Duanmu Wan, he was hoping to find a breakthrough through Lu Qingqing.
"I do," she replied. "My master has two good friends—both Taoists who practice health-preserving qigong."
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. "Health-preserving qigong... Are there any formal internal skills masters among them? Ones who can be used to fight enemies?"
"I haven’t heard of that," Lu Qingqing said, her tone apologetic.
Her answer disappointed Lu Sheng—but it was expected. Even the mysterious Duanmu Wan had only shared a few books on health-preserving qigong. Lu Qingqing’s master was a well-known external master; it was unlikely he would know any internal skills experts.
"Why, brother? You want to practice internal skills?" Lu Qingqing asked, curious but confused. "I’ve heard it’s mysterious, time-consuming, and complicated—sometimes even dangerous. And the power it grants isn’t great. How can it be as effective as external skills in actual combat? What can it do?"
Lu Sheng smiled faintly. "I have my own plans."
Lu Sheng fell into thought.
He had planned to go to Yanshan City, but now, after everything that had happened, leaving Jiulian City felt impossible.
His family in this life had treated him well—his father, his second mother, Uncle Zhao, and many others. He couldn’t bear the thought of something bad happening at home the moment he left.
Besides, in times like these, if trouble came, where could he hide alone?
He also realized that his father, Lu Quanan, had urged him to go far away to Yanshan City—almost as if trying to protect him from something unseen.
"The storm is coming..." he sighed, glancing at his second sister, Lu Qingqing, who remained blissfully unaware. Suddenly, his mood turned heavy.
"If I leave now, I might be able to hide for a while. But I can’t keep running forever. Eventually, I’ll have to face it.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKNQ79KgvQ
My family is well off, and money isn’t an issue, but I have to grow up fast—become strong enough to protect myself."
Yanshan City was too far, and Lu Sheng had other plans.
Cultivating both internal and external skills, and learning to integrate them—that was the most powerful path he could imagine.
Suddenly, he remembered the secret manual he had bought at an auction for a great price—the incomplete version of the Black Fiend Art.
"Although it’s incomplete, it’s all I have right now. That’s enough."
As Lu Qingqing chatted away about the interesting things she had learned from her master, Lu Sheng quietly began to recall the steps of the Black Fiend Art.
He had practiced it long ago and still remembered the first-level entry mental method clearly.
Noticing Lu Sheng’s distraction, Lu Qingqing talked a little more before leaving, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
Soon after, Xiaoqiao came in, placing a basin of water in front of Lu Sheng to wash his face, then brought him a medicinal soup to take.
During this period, Lu Sheng remained silent. As he went about his tasks, all his focus was on the mental pathway of running the Black Fiend Art.
He guessed the reason the Black Fiend Art was so difficult to master was similar to the Jade Crane Art: both required an initial qi circulation diagram.
The Jade Crane Art’s diagram was a crane flapping its wings, ready to take flight.
The Black Fiend Art must have its own version of such a diagram—but it was nowhere to be found in the secret manual.
"This diagram is like a general blueprint," he thought, "it coordinates and integrates the flow of internal energy throughout the body."
Unfortunately, with so little information about internal skills, he couldn’t conduct a thorough, systematic study.
So, he focused on practicing the Black Fiend Art while recuperating his body at the same time.
Days slipped by in a blink.
Meanwhile, another strange incident unfolded in Jiulian City.
Someone discovered a child’s graffiti scrawled on the wall of a villa on the city outskirts.
At first, it looked like careless scribbles made with charcoal, and curious onlookers came to see whose mischievous child it might be.
But overnight, without anyone noticing, more inexplicable graffiti appeared on the wall.
No one was seen nearby at all.
The cases of the Xu family’s extermination, the Wang family’s drowning in the well, the missing hunter, and now this strange graffiti—all these incidents stirred panic throughout Jiulian City.
Some even claimed to have heard eerie, shrill screams outside the city at night.
The bravest ventured out to investigate, only to find signs of fierce beast fights on the ground—and traces of blood.
In response, the prefectural government issued another order: the assistance request for finding the person can be withdrawn.
One morning, Lu Quanan and the other three family heads were summoned again to the prefectural government.
When he returned, his face was clouded with displeasure.
When Lu Sheng asked about it, Lu Quanan said nothing at first—only that he had a conflict with the prefect, and the experience had been unpleasant.
Later, Lu Quanan sought out Lu Sheng’s uncle, Lu Anping, the deputy commander of the garrison army.
The Lu family’s enduring strength was not due to Lu Quanan alone—Uncle Lu Anping was another pillar supporting their foundation.
The two men stayed in the study for a long time before finally opening the door.
Afterward, someone saw Uncle Lu Anping leave the Lu Mansion in a hurry.
Lu Sheng rested quietly in his room, learning about the unfolding situation from Lu Qingqing and Xiaoqiao.
Second Mother, Fifth Mother, Lu Yingying, Uncle Zhao, and others also visited him from time to time.
Outside the Lu family estate, Jiulian City seemed to grow more dangerous by the day.
At this moment, Uncle Zhao sent word that he had found a trace of Xiao Ba. The boy was unconscious in a house on one of the city’s streets—starving and emaciated when discovered.
"Xiao Ba? Did he say what happened? Why was he alone in that house?" Lu Sheng asked urgently.
The messenger, a guard under Uncle Zhao, shook his head.
"He didn’t say much. He only kept repeating that he ran desperately that day and just barely made it to that street. Shortly after entering, he suddenly fainted. When he woke up, he saw us."
Lu Sheng frowned.
"Is his story true?"
"True. Uncle Zhao checked with many sources, and it matches what Xiao Ba said."
"That’s strange..." Lu Sheng shook his head in confusion.
"You can go now."
"Yes." The guard left quickly.
Lu Sheng paced the small courtyard outside his room. His injuries were nearly healed.
He continued practicing the Black Fiend Art, waiting for the faintest sensation of Qi.
Once he sensed even a trace of Qi, he planned to rapidly strengthen his internal power—he was determined to make the Black Fiend Art a true part of his strength.
Just then, Lu Quanan hurried into the yard, accompanied by two servants.
"Sheng’er, your training is nearly complete. Shall we set off today?"
Lu Quanan’s expression was gentle and calm as he held a black satin package—inside was the money for Lu Sheng’s journey.
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