Grandmaster of Martial Arts

Sunlight filtered through the carved window lattice, casting mottled light and shadow on the rosewood bed.

Mu Bai woke up slowly, feeling completely refreshed. Even after the long and deep conversation with his father last night, his mood remained entirely unaffected.

He had slept exceptionally soundly.

He had even slept straight until the sun hung high in the sky, and the sound of maidservants chatting softly drifted in from outside. He stretched lazily and let out a lazy yawn.

"Young Master is awake!" A crisp voice rang out as two maidservants dressed in emerald-green ru skirts filed in.

Ling Xiu, who led the way, had curving eyes and held washing utensils in her hands, while the maidservant behind her carried a basin of steaming fresh water.

Under the orderly attendance of the maidservants, Mu Bai finished washing.

Once washed up, he came to the dining table and couldn't help frowning as he looked at the few dishes laid out upon it.

"How is it these same dishes again? Going back and forth it's just these few items. Lunch in ancient times is truly monotonous to the extreme."

Mu Bai muttered under his breath while picking at the food with his chopsticks.

The table held nothing more than steamed perch, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a plate of spiced beef. Although the ingredients were fresh and the cooking meticulous, eating them continuously for so many years meant that even delicacies of mountain and sea inevitably grew tiresome.

Ling Xiu smiled with pursed lips. "Young Master, these were all carefully prepared by the estate's chef. Ordinary households don't even get to eat such things."

Mu Bai shook his head helplessly and continued eating, though his mind drifted to the rich and varied foods of his past life, a wave of nostalgia welling up inside him.

After finishing lunch, Mu Bai came to the courtyard. The courtyard was shaded by lush trees, an ancient pagoda tree spread out like a canopy, and a rocking chair sat beneath it.

He lay down upon it in comfort, the rocking chair swaying gently with his movements.

A gentle breeze swept past, bringing wisps of floral fragrance that refreshed the heart and delighted the spirit.

Thinking of the crisis his father had mentioned last night, a faint smile drifted to the corners of Mu Bai's lips.

In the Great Yan Kingdom, martial arts were supreme.

Mu Bai had long since reached the peak of a Houtian martial artist, becoming a legendary Grandmaster of Martial Arts.

This was a realm countless martial artists dreamed of attaining. Throughout the entire Great Yan Kingdom, the people capable of reaching this level could be counted on one's fingers.

Thinking back to many years ago, when Mu Bai was still a child, he happened to cross paths with a fortune-telling Daoist priest on the street.

That Daoist priest possessed a transcendent air of wind and bones. Upon seeing Mu Bai, a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, and he declared that Mu Bai possessed a martial arts prodigy talent one in ten thousand.

The Daoist priest had also generously bestowed upon him a martial arts technique called the Heavenly Origin Technique.

Perhaps it was the golden finger brought by transmigrating at work, but Mu Bai's comprehension was extremely high, and practicing the Heavenly Origin Technique went as smoothly as a fish taking to water.

At the age of fifteen, he successfully broke through to the realm of a Grandmaster of Martial Arts, becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the Great Yan Kingdom!

Over the three years since then, Mu Bai practiced bitterly day and night, attempting to break through to the Xiantian realm, yet he always gained nothing at all.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not find the opportunity for a breakthrough, as though an invisible barrier separated him from the Xiantian realm.

As time passed, he gradually abandoned his cultivation and instead took to enjoying a leisurely life.

Despite failing to break through to Xiantian, with his strength as a Grandmaster of Martial Arts, he already had few rivals in the Great Yan Kingdom.

Across the entire Great Yan Kingdom, there were only four Grandmasters capable of contending with him, and those four Grandmasters were either peerless experts living in seclusion in the mountains or powerful sect leaders holding high positions.

They were certainly not figures the emperor could easily summon out of the mountains on a whim.

Therefore, even if the emperor really wanted to make a move against the Carefree Prince's family, he still had to weigh whether he possessed such strength.

Even if the emperor truly harbors any intentions, with this martial cultivation of mine, I can still protect my family's safety.

Mu Bai lay on the rocking chair, closing his eyes to rest his mind as he thought quietly to himself.

He was full of confidence in his own strength, feeling that his father's so-called worries were nothing more than unnecessary anxiety.

The afternoon sunlight remained warm and gentle, filtering through the lush branches and leaves to cast patches of light and shadow upon the rocking chair.

Mu Bai lay on the rocking chair in the courtyard, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest while his brows furrowed unconsciously.

The crisis his father spoke of had not stirred up much of a ripple in his heart; what truly vexed him was the breakthrough to Xiantian that had made zero progress over these past three years.

Three years ago, when Mu Bai successfully stepped into the realm of a Grandmaster of Martial Arts, he had been full of anticipation to continue climbing higher, never expecting that the path ahead would be blocked by an invisible barrier.

In order to shatter this obstacle, he had tried all sorts of methods.

In those days, whenever he heard news of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures manifesting anywhere, he would surely rush there without stopping.

He once heard that a miraculous medicine called the Ice Soul Snow Lotus grew in the extreme northern lands, legend saying that consuming it could help people break through cultivation bottlenecks.

Disregarding the long and distant journey, Mu Bai resolutely embarked on the path heading north.

Along the way, he encountered blizzards and fierce beasts of the ice plains, nearly losing his life. Yet even so, when he finally managed to find the Ice Soul Snow Lotus and swallowed it with great anticipation, his body only produced a momentary sensation of warmth before falling completely still once more.

Upon returning to the Prince's Estate, Mu Bai did not lose heart. He plunged headfirst into the study, flipping through various martial arts manuals in an attempt to find clues for a breakthrough from the experiences of his predecessors.

The Prince's Estate's study held a rich collection, ranging from ancient handed-down fragments to insights written by contemporary martial artists, and he studied them one by one.

In those days, he often forgot to sleep and eat, immersing himself in the dense characters without letting a single detail slip by.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, his hopes were dashed time and time again.

He had repeatedly studied every single word and phrase of the Heavenly Origin Technique, attempting to unearth the secrets hidden within, but each time ended in disappointment.

As time progressed, Mu Bai's state of mind underwent a quiet transformation.

At first, he was filled with impatience and unwillingness, and after every failed attempt, he would practice swordplay frantically in the courtyard, trying to use it to vent the gloom in his heart.

Soon, however, he realized this state was wrong; he was far too impatient, to the extent that even his martial state of mind had been affected.

And so, gradually, he learned to relax and let everything follow his heart.

The Xiaoyao City saw one diligent martial artist grow fewer, while gaining one notoriously profligate Young Master of the Carefree Prince.

Yet on countless nights, as he sat alone in the courtyard gazing up at the starry sky, he was still pondering the true meaning of martial arts.

Even so, this threshold of Xiantian remained as impassable as a natural chasm lying before him.

No matter how hard he worked, he seemed unable to break through this barrier.

Thinking of this, Mu Bai couldn't help but smile bitterly and helplessly, a sense of frustration welling up inside him.

He casually picked up another crystal-clear grape and popped it into his mouth, hoping to use it to soothe his mood, but before he could savor the sweet and sour taste in detail—

Suddenly, a faint fluctuation aroused his vigilance.

Mu Bai's peripheral vision swept slightly, his gaze landing on the direction from whence the fluctuation came, which was precisely the location of his father's courtyard.

His expression sank slightly as he thought to himself: Could something have happened on my father's end?

Yet he showed no outward sign, instead acting as though nothing were the matter as he slowly stood up.

He stretched lazily, loosened his muscles and bones, and then unconcernedly walked toward the direction of his father's courtyard, acting as if he had discovered nothing at all.