Early in the morning, fluffy snow whirled in the air like plump goose feathers and rows of arm-thick icicles hung under the eaves of the house. The cold air made people shudder.
Shua!
Blades flashed across the courtyard, rolling up waves of snow.
Lin Xun’s upper body was bare and his swift movements made his figure appear like temporary illusions. His Skybreaker Blade glinted as it constantly swung about and not a splash of water could pass through.
He had become slender and tall, and the muscles on his upper body resembled tempered blocks. He didn’t look bulky and instead exuded a well-balanced sense of beauty.
More than half a year had passed since Lin Xun left the mine prison. He had been thin, weak, and pale but now he had become much more elegant and even exuded a tranquil calmness.
His originally handsome and sharp face now had an extra glow.
Shia!
A bone spear drilled out from the ground and charged straight into the shadows of blades. Direct, simple, and swift, it struck the weakest point of the blade shadows.
With a loud bang, Lin Xun stumbled and staggered while the Skybreaker Blade was buzzing in his hand.“That blade technique is amazing but you haven’t quite mastered it and you are unable to show its essence.”
Xia Zhi was standing in the snow afar. She was dressed in a black windproof robe and was wielding a bone spear with a calm and peaceful expression.
“I know.”
Lin Xun withdrew his blade and exhaled. Then, he went to wash up.
He was practicing the Six Word Blade, which he had only reached the Elemental Realm in. Although he was beginning to grasp the blade art’s essence, it was still difficult to bring out the true power of the essence.
Lin Xun knew that he had to further practice this blade art and that he should practice it in real fights and battles.
“Are you not going out today?” asked Xia Zhi as she put away the bone spear.
“Not now.” Lin Xun put on clothes to cover his bare upper body and went to prepare breakfast.
He had made two more Flame Blades in the past two days, but because Golden Jade Hall had stirred the city from selling the blade, he noticed that many people were searching for the mysterious rune master who made the blade. He felt it wasn’t a suitable time to sell the two newly made aeth tools.
However, Lin Xun believed that Golden Jade Hall wouldn’t let the matter end after selling a Flame Blade for three hundred silver coins. Sooner or later, Gu Yanping would come to find him.
Furthermore, Lin Xun finally realized that his current situation didn’t look favorable after reading the intelligence that Fatty Diao brought back.
Lin Xun felt he had to do something whether it was in dealing with the Wu Clan or being vigilant of revenge from Lian Fei.
Lin Xun had analyzed his current situation for a long time and had decided to take advantage of all available resources to improve his strength!
Lin Xun told Xia Zhi about his plan over breakfast. “We can’t sit and do nothing. We must make some preparations and act soon.”
Xia Zhi listened quietly.
“The Wu Clan wants to borrow Lian Fei’s hand to get rid of me because they’re worried about angering the Stone Cauldron Alms. But Stone Cauldron Alms will no longer help us, so we have to depend on ourselves now.”
Xia Zhi suddenly lifted her head and said seriously, “You’ve already said this a few days ago. Just tell me what to do.”
Lin Xun looked embarrassed. “Did I say that already?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, I plan to find an opportunity to get rid of Lian Fei and his men.”
Xia Zhi asked, “And then?”
A ruminative expression crept into Lin Xun’s dark eyes. “Once Lian Fei dies, we can see how the Wu Clan regards this matter, and if they still won’t hesitate to deal with us, we will have to go into hiding.”
Xia Zhi frowned. “Hide?”
Lin Xun nodded. “Yes, they likely already know where we are living so it’s incredibly dangerous.”
After a pause, he continued. “The Wu Clan has a huge household and a huge business. There are thousands of guards under the Wu Clan’s command. The Wu Clan is a tyrant in Donglin City. If we want to fight against them, we have to use tactics such as sneak attacks. As long as we don’t get caught, we can definitely wear the enemies out.”
He then added, “But such tactics are extremely dangerous and if we are caught or exposed, we would have to fight to the death.”
After a thought, Xia Zhi said, “If it’s a sneak attack, I can at most kill cultivators at the initial Spirit Dipper Stage.”
Lin Xun was dumbstruck. It was the first time that Xia Zhi spoke about her true strength. But what shocked him the most was that Xia Zhi could kill initial Spirit Dipper experts!
The Spirit Dipper Stage!
An extraordinary existence in many people’s eyes!
At that cultivation stage, where a cultivator refined one’s spirit to stars of the Big Dipper, they could absorb the aeth qi of heaven and earth and could open up a mysterious aeth power reservoir in their sea of qi. A True Martial Stage cultivator’s strength simply couldn’t be compared to a Spirit Dipper cultivator’s.
There was a saying that only when a person reached the Spirit Dipper Stage would they truly step upon the cultivation path. Not only would their strength exceed the limit of the human body, but their life, spirit and entire body would also undergo transformations!
In the eyes of true cultivators, the nine layers of the True Martial Stage were nothing more than laying the foundation to embark on the cultivation path.
But Xia Zhi was confident that she could kill cultivators at the initial Spirit Dipper Stage. Even if she needed to rely on sneak attacks, it was still incredibly shocking.
Who would believe that a little girl around five to six years old could possess such powerful combat strength?
It was only after a long moment that Lin Xun could calm down from his shock and say, “That’s even better.”
Xia Zhi said with a frown, “Is that good? Give me three months and I can kill a cultivator at the initial Spirit Dipper Stage head-on.”
“…”
He originally thought that he was improving at an incredible speed in the past half a year since he had made several breakthroughs and had progressed from the second layer True Martial Stage to the fifth layer True Martial Stage.
Who would have thought that Xia Zhi was even more impressive?
This little girl—I really don’t know what to say about her…
Lin Xun rubbed his forehead. “We don’t have much time. We are just preparing for the worst. If we are forced into a desperate situation, we could just leave Donglin City. There will always be an opportunity to come back.”
Xia Zhi lifted her head and said in a serious voice, “But I don’t like to tolerate others and run away.”
Lin Xun shrugged his shoulders. “That’s just in the worst-case scenario. The chance of it happening is slim.”
While they were discussing, there was a knock at the door with a unique rhythm.
Xia Zhi seemed to know who it was and continued to eat.
Very soon, the courtyard gate was pushed open. Fatty Diao and Beanpole Ma rushed in, each carrying a huge box.
“Paying respect to Master Chopstick!”
Fatty Diao and Beanpole Ma were taken aback when they saw Lin Xun. They immediately put on an unctuous smile and bowed respectfully.
Lin Xun’s lips twitched imperceptibly. It seemed that he still couldn’t reject the bad nickname…
“Leave the stuff there and you can go,” instructed Xia Zhi.
Fatty Diao quickly nodded and placed the two boxes in the corner before leaving respectfully.
“What is that?” asked Lin Xun.
Xia Zhi got up, saying, “I led some people to wipe out another gang last night. That’s the spoils from that.”
She opened one of the wooden boxes and saw it was filled with around five hundred shining silver coins.
Xia Zhi just took a glimpse and then opened another box, which contained some bottles and jars of aeth decoctions. Evidently, they were very valuable.
Lin Xun couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw the box of silver coins and aeth decoctions. “The spoils is a little too much, isn’t it?”
Xia Zhi said indifferently. “Gangs have been operating in the slums for years, and they often rob, blackmail and steal other people’s property. Do you think they would be short of money? These spoils are only a part of it. The rest have already been distributed to the other gang members of the Chopstick Gang.”
Chopstick Gang!
Lin Xun could only say helplessly, “So, now the...Chopstick Gang has also become a criminal gang?”
Xia Zhi nodded and then immediately added, “There is a foul atmosphere in the slums and there are all kinds of people. It’s impossible to eradicate all underground forces. However, under my control, the Chopstick Gang will not operate shady businesses such as stealing, robbing and murdering.”
Lin Xun asked in puzzlement. “Will they agree? This is the same as destroying the means they rely on to survive.”
Xia Zhi said, “They have already agreed because I took them to take over other gangs’ territories and gave them unimaginable benefits.”
Dumbstruck, Lin Xun didn’t ask any more questions.
“I told my underlings to select these aeth decoctions. They are very beneficial to cultivators at the fifth layer True Martial Stage.”
Xia Zhi continued, “There are also five hundred silver coins in the box, which we can use for daily essentials. You don't have to work so hard to make aeth tools to earn money anymore.”
She turned around and went into the room. She was going to sleep again.
Complex emotions surfaced in Lin Xun’s heart. Fighting and robbing are indeed one of the most effective ways to gain money!
In just two days, Xia Zhi had wiped out two major gangs in the slums and pocketed a total of seven hundred silver coins and a load of aeth decoctions. Compared to that, the profit that Lin Xun made from selling aeth tools wasn’t worth mentioning.
However, Lin Xun didn’t plan to give up on making aeth tools. After all, robbing and taking over other territories were only temporary, and also too dangerous. The spoils obtained also reeked of blood.
Making aeth tools was different because it not only brought money but more importantly, he could also hone his rune skills!
From this day on, Lin Xun didn’t go out and made full use of his time to engrave rune patterns, create aeth tools, temper his cultivation, sharpen his spirit, and practice martial arts…
Every three days, he would enter and challenge the rune battle realm—Thousand Heavy Wave Sea. Although he failed every time, he could see visible improvements in his physical strength.
As for Xia Zhi, she slept during the day and disappeared at night. Every other day, she brought back abundant loot, either silver coins or aeth decoctions, that were very useful to Lin Xun’s cultivation.
If it weren’t because of the Wu Clan, Lin Xun would even have loved his rare peaceful life.
Unfortunately, his life was destined to be not peaceful forever.
Ten days later, an assassination plot on Lin Xun was quietly happening…