Clear Grudges and Favors

"This disciple will remember your teachings."

Xiao Wu and Xiao Yue had been sent off, and now even Lu Xianyuan was leaving. Lu Wangchuan suddenly felt a weight lift from his shoulders; he had no lingering attachment left to this city.

"This is a letter I wrote for you. When you reach the Divine Water Sect, find a way to deliver it to Cheng Yunxiao. He is my junior uncle, on excellent terms with my father, and holds a high position in the sect as the Law Enforcement Elder. With his support, you can rest easy in the Divine Water Sect."

"Thank you, Mentor."

Lu Wangchuan accepted the letter, and Lu Xianyuan continued.

"However, before heading to the Divine Water Sect, you must first travel north eight hundred li to Daze City. Find the Black Iron Stronghold, mention my name, and retrieve an item. As for what it is, you'll know when you see it."

Lu Wangchuan nodded.

"If there's nothing else, then be on your way."

Lu Xianyuan issued his usual dismissal. Lu Wangchuan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"This disciple has received your grace, Mentor, and has no way to repay it. Today, I swear here: when I reach the Divine Water Sect, I will reclaim Still Water Peak for you!"

Lu Xianyuan was taken aback, then merely smiled.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but you cannot defeat her. Cultivate well and focus on yourself."

"Is she that strong?"

"Strong! Stronger than your talent!"

Lu Xianyuan was utterly confident, as if he had already decided Lu Wangchuan could never overcome that opponent.

Lu Wangchuan offered no further explanation. Taking the letter of recommendation, he bowed in thanks and quickly hurried home.

As soon as he arrived, he found a group of people ransacking his house, most of them neighbors. The moment their eyes met, an awkward silence hung in the air for a second, but then the other party threw caution to the wind.

"Young Master Lu, we thought you'd already left, so we came to take some things."

"That's right, you weren't going to use them anyway. Sooner or later, the Black Lotus Society would seize them. We're all neighbors here—better we benefit than them."

Lu Wangchuan gave a cold smile.

"Benefit you? Why should I? Have you ever treated me to a meal or offered me a drink? I've barely stepped out the door, and you're already tearing down my roof beams. Do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

"Spare us the talk. If it weren't for your sister, you wouldn't have gotten this far. Otherwise, you'd never have lived in a house like this in eight lifetimes."

"That's right. We're taking it today. What can you do about it?"

Lu Wangchuan didn't waste words. With a light tap of his foot, he closed the distance in a single Heavenly Dipper Eight Steps step, grabbed a man by the neck, and with a crack, snapped it like a dry twig.

The crowd shuddered, their earlier bravado vanishing into thin air, replaced by boundless terror.

"Young Master Lu, spare us! We were wrong! We'll return everything right now!"

"Your hands have already dirtied them. I don't want them anymore."

"Th-then what does Young Master Lu want?"

"Hand over all your gold, silver, and jewels. Otherwise, I'll crush every one of your necks."

Their faces twisted in misery, but they dared not refuse. They handed over their family treasures. Lu Wangchuan made a rough estimate—at least seven or eight thousand taels of silver. That was enough to buy three or four houses like his, a nice bit of unexpected fortune.

He had always lived by the rule: if left alone, he left others alone; if provoked, he never forgave.

If these neighbors had to blame anyone, they should blame their own sticky fingers.

"The house is yours now."

After pocketing the money, Lu Wangchuan took one last look at the old residence where he had lived for over a year, then swiftly left Jianghai City and headed for Daze City.

Along the way, he saw many refugees migrating and many people profiteering from the chaos. What struck him most was that the worst oppressors of the common folk weren't always bandits—sometimes, the soldiers' plundering and bullying were even fiercer.

In such a chaotic age, how could rebels not arise?

Sometimes, unable to bear the sight, Lu Wangchuan would intervene, but he didn't get involved much. To put it bluntly, even ten-year-old children were stealing and looting now—was he supposed to kill them too?

The roots of this world were rotten. If he truly wanted to save it, the best path was to quickly raise his cultivation, become a great power in the future, and issue a single command that would bring peace to the realm. That would be a hundred times easier than saving a thousand or ten thousand people now.

Thus, pushing hard, he reached the Black Iron Stronghold in northern Daze City within two days.

He had heard of this stronghold before—a renowned forging fortress in Shu Province, gathering the finest craftsmen in the region, who had produced countless famous weapons.

Upon arrival, Lu Wangchuan stated his purpose, and a servant led him to the main hall. Soon, several men carried over a weapon.

It was a single-edged sword with dragon-scale patterns, one side razor-sharp with a chilling gleam, the other thick and sturdy.

"A fine sword!"

Lu Wangchuan could tell at a glance that this blade was no ordinary item.

"Young hero, this sword is called the Godslayer Sword. It was forged from celestial meteorite iron and northern sea cold iron, then hammered and refined by our best master smith over eighteen consecutive days. It can cut through iron like mud and split a hair blown against it. Its value is no less than forty thousand taels. Your master had it specially made for you."

Lu Wangchuan's mind trembled.

"This is for me?"

"That's right, exactly."

"Master."

A warm current surged within Lu Wangchuan. Though Lu Xianyuan was usually cold and distant, he truly had no complaints when it came to his disciple.

These debts of gratitude were not something that could be repaid in a single day.

Taking a deep breath, he directly lifted the Godslayer Sword. The blade that took several men from Black Iron Stronghold to carry was effortlessly light in his hands.

This scene instantly stunned quite a few people.

"Young hero, impressive skill."

Lu Wangchuan did not grow conceited. As a Dantian Realm expert, lifting two or three thousand jin with one hand was trivial, and the Godslayer Sword weighed at most two or three hundred jin. Even a Bone Forging cultivator could lift it with ease. The praise of ordinary people did not affect his state of mind.

But just then, countless soldiers suddenly burst through the gates of Black Iron Stronghold, surrounding the entire compound.

"Nobody move."

The master of Black Iron Stronghold hurried forward.

"Gentlemen soldiers, what wind blows you here today?"

The leading commander, a big-bearded man whose cultivation had already reached Open Source, swept his gaze across the stronghold and said coldly:

"The Black Lotus Society has grown too rampant lately. This Thousand Household is under orders to take a batch of weapons from your Black Iron Stronghold to expand military supplies."

The master quickly spoke up:

"Sir soldier, could there be some misunderstanding? I have received no transfer order or payment silver from the Imperial Court."

"Oh? So you want to wait for the court's transfer order and silver? If you delay the campaign and let the Black Lotus Society's men escape, can you bear that responsibility? Or are you a spy for the Black Lotus Society, trying to send these weapons to the Black Lotus Sect?"

The Big Beard Commander's words left the master trembling, unable to utter a single word in reply.

This was clearly outright robbery, but he had no way to stop it.

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