Martial Ancestor, Martial Venerable

Lu Ming slowly turned around, his robes stirring without wind.

"Wuji Sect?"

When Yu Yuan heard this, his heart tightened. Sect disciples were not easy to deal with, yet he still put on a disdainful front.

"Haha, more of you sect disciples who don't know life from death. Some time ago, an Inner Sect disciple from the eighth-rank Nine Tripod Sect accepted a mission and came looking for me too. In the end, I kicked him into a pulp with a few strikes of my legs."

"Just these past few days, another Inner Sect disciple from the seventh-rank Nine Heavens Sect came looking for death as well. He died by my hand too."

He appeared to be flaunting his achievements, but in truth, he was trying to throw his opponent's mind into disarray.

This trick was especially effective against young sect disciples who had seen little of the world. For example, after that Nine Tripod Sect disciple heard it, he immediately began to panic.

As a result, he was full of openings during their battle and was easily killed by Yu Yuan.

Yet the person before him was different. Though he could not see Lu Ming's expression, he could sense his calm.

And it was no ordinary calm. It was like a tranquil lake on the surface, beneath which surging killing intent lay hidden.

It sent chills crawling down his spine.

Lu Ming was indeed unmoved. When he had been at the eighth level of inner qi, he had already dared to go head-to-head with True Qi Realm Martial Artists. At the ninth level, he had consecutively slain two True Qi Realm Martial Artists.

Afraid of death?

If he asked himself that question when he was alone, perhaps he would hesitate. But when facing an enemy, he was always calmer than anyone would expect.

He did not know why. That was simply how it was.

So he did not waste words. He directly drew his blade.

Whoosh!

This time, both the flash of the blade and his figure vanished together.

Yu Yuan's expression changed drastically. Instinctively, he raised the woman in his arms before him as a shield, then circulated his true qi with all his strength and retreated directly, not even knowing where to attack.

Yet it was as though a faint breeze had brushed past him. He only felt a chill at his neck, followed by an incomparably sharp cutting sensation rampaging through his body.

Pfft! Pfft!

The sounds of a blade slicing through paper rang out one after another.

In but an instant, all strength left him, and he collapsed weakly to the ground.

Before dying, he could see from the corner of his eye that his enemy was standing behind him, holding the long blade in his arms as though he had never made a move.

He could not understand why Lu Ming was so fast.

The sect disciples he had encountered before had clearly not been like this.

"Ah..."

Splashed by something warm without warning, the abducted woman screamed in fright. The old man, who had witnessed the entire scene, had already rushed over.

"Many thanks to Young Hero Lu for drawing his blade to help us."

He hurriedly bowed.

"Father."

As though she had found something to rely on, the woman threw herself into the old man's arms and began to cry.

The old man hurriedly comforted her a few times, then urged, "Quick, kneel and thank Young Hero Lu for saving your life."

The woman sobbed as she did as told, but Lu Ming stopped her. "No need. I merely accepted a sect mission."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and stored Yu Yuan's corpse away, then prepared to leave.

Yet the old man stopped him. "Young Hero, please wait. Though this may have been no more than a lift of the hand to Young Hero Lu, it is a great kindness to my Liu Family, one that cannot go unrepaid. Since Young Hero has come from afar, at the very least, allow me to fulfill my duty as host."

"Yes, Young Hero Lu."

At this moment, the Meiling Twin Swords also walked over and bowed. "The Meiling Twin Swords, Qi Shaobin and Jiang Mulan, greet Young Hero."

"Greetings to you both."

Lu Ming returned their salute with cupped fists before saying, "There is no need for hospitality. Everyone, if fate permits, we shall meet again."

With that, he tapped the ground with the tip of his foot and swept backward. After traveling some distance, he suddenly turned, changed to long strides, and gradually disappeared down the long street.

"What fine qinggong. As expected of an Inner Sect disciple from a seventh-rank sect."

Qi Shaobin of the Meiling Twin Swords exclaimed in admiration, then spoke with deep envy.

Compared to Rogue Cultivators like them, the resources and martial arts enjoyed by sect disciples were indeed enough to make one green with envy.

But there was nothing to be done about it. Their talent was ordinary, and even in their thirties, they had only reached the Early True Qi Realm.

"It is far more than qinggong. We are both in the Early True Qi Realm, yet Yu Yuan, whom we could not defeat in even one move, was likewise unable to withstand a single move from him. The gap between them is simply too great."

The female sword wielder, Jiang Mulan, sighed.

"Father, I will definitely work hard at martial arts from now on."

The woman who had nearly been abducted was still shaken. Looking at Lu Ming's departing back, she suddenly spoke.

The old man immediately said with relief, "After this ordeal, you have finally come to understand. I told you long ago that in this world, weakness is a sin."

"Look, any random bandit can come along and leave you unable to control your own fate."

"Those zither, chess, calligraphy, and paintings you like—once you are strong enough, can't you play with them however you please?"

He immediately launched into a lecture. "Now that you have come to understand, it is not too late."

The woman lowered her head. She knew she had been too naive before.

"Congratulations to Old Patriarch Liu on having someone to carry on his legacy. Miss Liu is naturally gifted and intelligent. If she trains diligently, her achievements will certainly not be low."

The Meiling Twin Swords immediately offered their congratulations from the side.

"I dare not speak of achievements. I only hope she can protect herself in the future."

The old man waved his hand, then formally bowed. "Many thanks to you two for helping earlier. In the future, my Liu Family will certainly spread word of your righteous deed."

"Not at all, not at all."

Though the two appeared unconcerned, they were overjoyed inwardly.

Why did they offer righteous aid? Was it not to make a name for themselves?

"You two were implicated just now. Please return to my residence with me and rest for a few days," the old man invited again.

"Then we will trouble you."

The group then headed toward the residence. As Miss Liu walked, she could not help looking once more in the direction Lu Ming had left.

That figure standing with effortless grace, holding a long blade and wearing a bamboo hat, had left a deep impression on her.

As she thought of it, she suddenly wanted to paint him.

The only pity was that his features, hidden behind the black veil, had been somewhat indistinct.

After leaving, Lu Ming arrived at an inn at the end of the street called Fuyun Tower.

He came here, collected his horse, nodded to the innkeeper, and rode away in a cloud of dust.

The owner of Fuyun Tower had once been an Inner Sect disciple of the Wuji Sect. Because he had failed to make a breakthrough for a long time, he had regretfully left and returned to his hometown.

However, he had not completely severed his ties with the Wuji Sect. He served as one of the sect's eyes and ears in this area.

All kinds of intelligence would be passed back, and naturally, he would receive compensation in return.

That was why Lu Ming had been able to find Yu Yuan so quickly.

There were many people like the owner of Fuyun Tower throughout the Zhao Kingdom and even in neighboring countries.

The vastness of a sect was not made up solely of those within its mountain gates.

Without dwelling on it, Lu Ming began taking stock of his gains as he rode.

Desperadoes like Yu Yuan generally carried their valuables with them, so his harvest this time would certainly not be small.

Of course, desperadoes who lived with their lives balanced on a blade's edge also believed in enjoying themselves while they could, and they usually spent money like water.

He only hoped Yu Yuan had left behind a little more.

With excitement in his heart, he immediately began searching the corpse.

He first checked Yu Yuan's fingers but found no storage ring. After searching him thoroughly, he finally found it on the necklace around his neck.

It turned out Yu Yuan had made it into a pendant.

Lu Ming took it out and began looking through it.

He found that this storage ring had slightly less space than his own, though it was still quite valuable.

Next came the items inside. Apart from some clothes and other miscellaneous objects, there were not many useful things.

First was the money: more than one hundred and thirty thousand taels in silver notes, and more than twenty thousand taels in gold notes.

To his delight, there were even thirty-six and a half low-grade Origin Stones. That half piece had probably been used by Yu Yuan during cultivation.

After finishing the inventory, he moved everything into his own storage ring.

Next came the martial arts.

Inside were one leg technique Yu Yuan had used and one palm technique, but he found no inner cultivation method.

The leg technique was called [Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Leg], a Human-grade High Stage technique.

The palm technique was slightly higher, at Human-grade Peak Stage. It was called [Great Demon Punishing Palm].

"I never expected Yu Yuan to cultivate a demon-punishing palm technique while engaging in murder and arson. I wonder whether, with such a state of mind, he had managed to cultivate this palm technique to great mastery."

Lu Ming was somewhat speechless when he saw the name [Great Demon Punishing Palm].

Then he became conflicted again. There was both a palm technique and a leg technique here—should he learn them? He understood the principle that grasping too much meant chewing more than one could swallow.

But he quickly made his decision. Trying to chew more than one could swallow was a problem for others, who feared learning too many different things would scatter their focus.

But he possessed the Jade Pendant. There was no martial art under heaven that he could not comprehend, so naturally, he did not have that problem.

Moreover, he aspired to reach the end of martial arts. Naturally, he could not rely only on blade techniques and fist techniques, becoming some Blade Venerable or Fist Ancestor.

He wanted to become a Martial Ancestor, a Martial Venerable.

Therefore, any martial art he had a chance to learn, he would naturally learn.

Composing his thoughts, Lu Ming first put away the two martial arts manuals, then looked at the remaining items.