Breakthrough!

The following evening.

After dinner, the three young members of the Liang family gathered in Liang Yue's room again to discuss the events of the previous day.

Liang Yue had returned very late the night before and hadn't told Liang Peng about Zhen Changzhi's death. He only informed him that morning before going to the academy, advising him to be extra careful.

It wasn't until now that the three siblings had time to sit down and talk properly.

"How was it?" Liang Yue asked Liang Peng. "Did you have a good day at the academy today?"

"Zhen Xiaohao didn't come today, and there are some rumors in the academy," Liang Peng said, his expression somewhat grim, looking not so good.

"What?" Liang Xiaoyun also asked.

"Yesterday I hit Zhen Xiaohao, and they all thought I would be punished. Unexpectedly, not only was I fine, but Zhen Xiaohao didn't come to the academy," Liang Peng explained. "Later, someone went to inquire and said that even Zhen Xiaohao's father was implicated. Last night, people from the Ministry of Justice raided the Zhen family overnight."

Because Zhen Changzhi's corruption case involved a huge amount and absolutely could not be alerted, his death and the hidden silver were kept secret, and the outside world had not received any news. But last night, the Ministry of Justice sealed off the Zhen family and even pulled out a cartload of things from inside, which couldn't be hidden from the neighbors.

Naturally, it spread throughout the south of the city overnight.

"They all said..." Liang Peng showed an expression that was hard to describe, "that our family is connected to the Liang family of the Four Great Clans, and some even said I'm the illegitimate son of Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo..."

"What in the world is this about?" Liang Yue also felt it was incredibly bizarre.

The Four Great Clans of the Divine Capital were Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen.

These four families were great clans that existed even before the Yin Dynasty, with a history spanning thousands of years, and all had important officials in the court. Anyone who had even a slight connection with the Four Great Clans was bound to be rich or noble.

For example, Chen Ju's family was a collateral branch of the Chen clan responsible for managing businesses. Even as a collateral branch, their wealth was immeasurable.

But not everyone with the same surname was related. If Liang Yue's family had even the slightest connection with that Left Prime Minister's Liang family, they wouldn't have been struggling to make a living in Peaceful Lane, with even an Official Guard spot being taken by someone else.

But that's how rumors are.

From the perspective of his classmates, Zhen Xiaohao bullied Liang Peng at the academy, and as a result, was immediately beaten severely by Liang Peng. Immediately after, his family was raided by the Ministry of Justice. His father, Zhen Changzhi, was known for being cautious in his official duties and as clean as water, never having had a problem for decades. Who would believe that Liang Peng didn't have some power behind him?

The imagination of young boys and girls is the most vivid, and a story about a Left Prime Minister's illegitimate son living among the common people was immediately spread.

"Didn't you clarify?" Liang Xiaoyun asked.

"I said I'm absolutely not an illegitimate son," Liang Peng said helplessly. "They all said they understood, and then secretly advised me that being illegitimate isn't shameful, and that getting ahead is something that can't be rushed."

"You've been wronged," Liang Yue said. "The details of Zhen Changzhi's case cannot be spread for now. After the investigation is over in a while, you can clear your name of this honor."

Liang Peng nodded, then felt that the words were a bit strange.

There were also some troubles that were difficult to express. Previously, only a few girls in the academy secretly had crushes on him, occasionally stealing shy glances, which didn't have much impact. Now, the eyes of more than half the girls in the academy looked at him differently, their gazes completely fervent.

Someone would also occasionally hand him love letters, making it impossible to concentrate in class.

It was too disruptive to his studies.

Very annoying.

"Oh, right," Liang Peng added. "I don't know if I was injured after fighting him, but when I woke up this morning, I always felt a bit dizzy with every breath, and even more so when I took a deep breath. How about I also take a day off tomorrow and go see a doctor?"

Liang Yue scratched his head, "Can you get injured from unilaterally beating someone?"

"Regardless of whether there's an injury, you can rest for a day," Liang Xiaoyun nodded. "It's also good to avoid the limelight."

His younger siblings returned to their rooms to rest, and Liang Yue also came out into the courtyard.

Last night, he had obtained the Hu Family Blade Technique from Hu Tiehan, and now he finally had time to practice it.

There were two top priorities before him now. One was to quickly find the murderer of Zhen Changzhi and completely clear the brothers' names. The other was to quickly improve his strength and enhance himself. In this vast world, only with sufficient strength could one establish a foothold.

For martial arts practitioners, they had already tempered their muscles and bones countless times in the Qi Blood Realm, and no fist, foot, blade, or sword technique could stump them. But to make a move truly lethal, the most important thing was to comprehend the DaoRhyme within it and integrate it into the martial skill.

Therefore, the important part of cultivation techniques in this world was not the move diagrams, but the contemplation diagrams.

Opening the book, the diagram for the Hu Family Blade depicted a man holding a blade, soaring and flipping on a majestic snow mountain, his figure as agile as a spirit fox.

Turning page after page, with each contemplation diagram he looked at, he felt a powerful impact, as if he was instantly pulled onto that vast ice plain, witnessing the sharp blade light in the cold wind.

So-called contemplation was to observe and imagine.

Whoosh—

As he delved deeper into the viewing, the sound of wind began to roar in Liang Yue's ears. He had already memorized all the moves in his mind, forgetting the existence of the book, and held the blade in his hand.

Every move of the grandmaster before him was accompanied by the shaking of the snow mountain and the cracking of ice for a thousand miles. Although Liang Yue could not achieve this, he followed meticulously, exploring the divine charm within.

Logically, even if one could feel a hint of divine charm in the first realm, it wouldn't be so direct. Yet, Liang Yue was able to immerse himself so easily into the world of the contemplation diagrams.

Diagrams flashed through his mind, the powerful blade force pressing directly towards his face.

The first move!

Sand Gull Skimming Waves.

The second move!

Mandarin Duck Linked Rings.

The third move!

Embrace the Moon.

Under the moonlight, Liang Yue's figure became increasingly ethereal, gradually transforming into agile phantoms. For a moment, it seemed as if his figure was everywhere in the courtyard, making it impossible to tell which one was real.

Only he himself knew that the real him was on the ice plain, learning the blade technique from the legendary grandmaster.

That grandmaster possessed world-destroying power. With one swing of the blade, the mountain wind howled; with one strike, the ice plain fractured. The vast expanse of heaven and earth seemed unable to contain him, being stirred upside down by this single blade!

Boom!

With another turn, several figures circled the sky, and the snow mountain crumbled!

The eighteenth move.

Cloud Dragon Nine Manifestations!

Chichichi—

Deep marks of blade energy destruction appeared simultaneously on nine spots on the ground in the courtyard. Liang Yue's slightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, the burst of sharp light instantly illuminating the deep night!

"This should be the Contemplation Realm, right?" He was a little excited.

At this moment, he felt his divine palace suddenly open up. The Dao rhythm between heaven and earth was like a surging river, and he felt as if he were fishing by the river, able to grasp it in his palm with careful contemplation.

Just now, without realizing it, he had broken through.

Contemplation Realm!

Breaking through this second layer of martial arts meant leaving behind the clumsy strengthening of muscles and bones and arriving at the threshold of true cultivation.

All of this was indeed thanks to Hu Tiehan's help.

Although Liang Yue was already at the peak of the Qi Blood Realm before, just a step away from breaking through, if it weren't for the cultivation technique he sent, which allowed Liang Yue to start contemplating early and stimulated the divine palace's gateway, he wouldn't have been able to open the door to the second realm so quickly.

Martial arts cultivation techniques in the Yin Dynasty were not difficult to buy. They were available in all qualities, from high to low, and were not rare items. However, being easy to buy didn't mean they were cheap. The local street vendor's Iron Cotton Armor that Hu Tiehan gave Pang Chun was worth nearly a hundred taels, and the value of this ancestral Hu Family Blade Technique was immeasurable.

It was absolutely impossible for Liang Yue to buy a martial arts cultivation technique of this grade himself.

Now, as soon as he closed his eyes, that majestic Snow Mountain would appear in his divine palace, along with the endless blade light being wielded on the mountain.

This proved that he had fully comprehended the essence of the Hu Family Blade!

From the first stance to the eighteenth stance, not a single one was missed.

"Wait..."

Liang Yue was filled with gratitude, and thinking of Hu Tiehan's rough face, he suddenly remembered something else.

"Which stance did Brother Hu say was more difficult?"

Thanks to the alliance masters "one piece" and "Fine Wine" for their rewards!

This book might be a little different from the previous two, and the beginning has also changed. Although I have been trying to maintain the tone, the reading experience might still be different. Although I think I have a relatively exciting worldview in my heart that might be good if slowly unfolded, I still feel very uncertain. In the early stage, I will be a little worried about not being accepted by old readers, and in the later stage, I will be worried about not being able to write it. Seeing so many friends from the previous book come to support me, I am really grateful.

Thank you everyone, I will continue to work hard!