Turbulent Situation

Lu Wangchuan took out the letter and found the reason within.

His sister had given birth—a son.

In this feudal society, having a son naturally carried extraordinary significance. A mother rose in status through her son; with one son, his sister, who had come from a poor and humble background, saw her standing soar.

As a result, she had more money at hand as well.

Besides that, his sister wrote that the situation outside had begun to turn chaotic again. She told him to go find her, so she could take better care of him.

Lu Wangchuan merely sighed. He would wait until he had grown stronger before going.

A person had to know his own limits. As someone whose sister had always supported him, his brother-in-law's family certainly would not welcome him. There was no need to go looking for trouble.

Even if they did not care about that, one should visit relatives less often when one had neither money nor influence. It was easy to become a nuisance.

Besides, the Chen Family was wealthy and powerful, with many martial artists. There might even be martial artists no weaker than himself. There was no need to worry about his sister's safety; he should improve his cultivation first.

Only by becoming stronger could he offer his sister better protection.

He gave Xiao Yue a banknote for daily expenses and put the rest away for emergencies.

After finishing this, he hurried to the Longtai Merchant Guild.

As his cultivation grew higher and higher, his breakthrough speed would only become slower. Even with the finest supplementary items, it was impossible to defy the heavens and advance faster than when he had broken through the Blood Solidification Realm. His next breakthrough would take at least another year.

At a time like this, he needed to consider improving his actual combat strength through equipment.

For instance, buying a treasured sword.

"You're saying a good treasured sword costs several thousand taels of silver?"

Hearing Lao Tan's quote, Lu Wangchuan's mouth could not help twitching violently.

"Of course. A fine sword is not merely made from precious materials; crafting it also requires tremendous effort. First, you need an experienced master craftsman. Then it must be tempered through a thousand hammer blows and a hundred refinements. There are countless steps involved, so naturally the price shoots straight up."

Lu Wangchuan did not suspect that Lao Tan was trying to deceive him. The swords of this world were not like the swords from his previous life. A good sword was indeed extremely demanding in both materials and craftsmanship.

When facing high-level martial artists, such as experts at Bone Forging and above, their bodies had been strengthened to such a degree that ordinary iron weapons found it difficult to inflict fatal wounds.

To unleash his combat strength to the fullest, he needed a good sword.

But this thing was simply too expensive. He was not some big spender; he was merely an ordinary hard-working pauper!

He would rather use several thousand taels of silver to buy materials and turn them into Spirit Elixir to aid his cultivation.

It seemed this path did not suit him.

Lao Tan saw his disappointment and consoled him.

"There's nothing I can do either. I heard Qing Zhou has started stirring again lately. Hot commodities like treasured swords are shooting up in price, even doubling. If it had been before, one or two thousand taels would have been enough for me to get you an excellent top-grade treasured sword!"

"Forget it. Get me an ordinary sword first. Also, bring me another batch of the previous materials."

"No problem, but medicinal ingredients have gone up in price too. You see..."

"Money isn't a problem. Just prepare the materials for me."

"Right away."

Shopkeeper Tan trotted off to handle it for him, while Lu Wangchuan let out a deep sigh. It would be a lie to say his heart did not ache. After all, he was not rich enough to spend lavishly. But he had no choice—he could not just stop cultivating!

Whenever war broke out, prices rose. The ones who suffered were always the common people.

Whether the nation prospered, the people suffered; whether it perished, the people suffered.

After collecting the materials, Lu Wangchuan went to the Martial Hall. He and Lu Xianyuan had become quite familiar by now, so he came by every few days to exchange pointers.

Although Lu Xianyuan had never said he would accept him as a disciple, he had truly helped him a great deal.

For instance, over the past few months, he had constantly taught him combat techniques, passed on some experience of the martial world, and explained the styles of various martial arts so that he could better break them.

No matter how powerful the Light Screen's point-allocation ability was, it could not give him such precious experience.

Lu Xianyuan truly counted as both a fine teacher and a good friend.

When Lu Wangchuan arrived at the Martial Hall, however, he unexpectedly found everyone gathered around a corpse, talking among themselves.

There were clearly sword marks from the Limitless Sword Dao on the corpse. A single thrust had pierced the heart—steady, precise, and ruthless. It had to be Lu Xianyuan's handiwork.

"What happened?"

He could not help stepping forward to ask. Everyone replied.

"This man was a spy from the Black Lotus Society. He wanted to poison the Martial Hall's dining hall, but Instructor Lu discovered him and killed him with one sword strike."

Lu Wangchuan's heart sank. He quickly made his way to Lu Xianyuan's small courtyard.

Lu Xianyuan lounged lazily in a grand armchair, basking in the sun. Before Lu Wangchuan could ask, he had already explained absentmindedly.

"This is the Black Lotus Society's usual method. Before attacking cities and seizing territory, they first send people to poison the experts within the city. The Black Lotus Society was scattered before, so everyone let down their guard. Now this has appeared in many cities, and quite a few experts have fallen for it.

"It probably will not be long before the Black Lotus Society regroups and begins attacking cities and seizing territory again."

Lu Wangchuan nodded.

Since even Lu Xianyuan said so, the Black Lotus Society's return truly was not far off.

"Forget about that. If it really happens, no one can stop it. How is your Limitless Sword Dao progressing?"

"Reporting to Instructor, I have just cultivated it to the third level."

As usual, Lu Wangchuan concealed one level. He needed to keep some secrets of his own.

Lu Xianyuan's eyes lit up, and he sighed with deep emotion.

"With talent this good, it would be such a waste not to join an immortal sect. This time, when the Black Lotus Society rises again, you will inevitably have to leave Jianghai City. Have you decided which immortal sect you want to join?"

"This disciple does not know. I hope Instructor will explain."

"The Great Wilderness Three Thousand Regions—one region, three thousand provinces! There are sects beyond counting. But we are located in Da Qian. Da Qian occupies thirteen provinces and has the Seven Sects Twelve Schools. Sects rank one level higher, schools one level below. The most renowned, the Divine Water Sect and the Heavenly Martial Sect, are both good choices.

"The Divine Water Sect has hundreds of peaks. I was once the Peak Master of a minor peak within the Divine Water Sect. I was betrayed by petty people and lost my peak. Feeling that I had failed my ancestors, I left the sect and came to Jianghai City. But I still have a few connections within the sect. If you wish to go, I can write you a letter of introduction."

Lu Wangchuan naturally knew about Lu Xianyuan's history with the Divine Water Sect. He knew that writing him a letter of introduction would require Lu Xianyuan to set aside his pride, and warmth rose in his heart.

"Thank you, Instructor. This disciple is willing to go to the Divine Water Sect."

Immortal sects were fraught with danger. Going in alone, he feared he would suffer no small amount of hardship. Having someone to look after him would naturally be far better.

Moreover, Lu Wangchuan did not wish to waste Lu Xianyuan's goodwill. Though they had no name of master and disciple, they had the substance of it.

Lu Xianyuan nodded.

"Your Limitless Sword Dao has already reached the third level. Why do I not see a treasured sword?"

Lu Wangchuan answered truthfully.

"Treasured swords are too expensive. Ordinary swords are not very useful, while better treasured swords cost several thousand taels of silver at the slightest. This disciple only has that much silver, and still needs to buy materials to make medicinal soup, so I planned to make do with an ordinary sword first."

Lu Xianyuan sighed.

"Martial artists consume wealth. It has not been easy for you to reach this point. You have had it hard. Go back and cultivate first. The Black Lotus Society will not be able to attack here anytime soon. Before then, raise your cultivation as much as possible."

"Yes."

Lu Wangchuan took his leave. Once he was gone, another figure entered the courtyard. His beard and hair were white, his tiger eyes fierce, his brows thick and bushy. He was the current master of the Dragon Tiger Martial Hall, and the only Heavenly Being in all of Jianghai City and several surrounding cities!

A Heavenly Being was an expert who had surpassed the Physical Body Realm!

I hope everyone can give a few more recommendation votes and monthly votes. Thank you, everyone.