Wedding Dress Divine Skill

Su Que had come to West City to find out where he could obtain better prescriptions, or perhaps an internal cultivation technique that harmed both others and himself.

After being briefly distracted by the conflict between the White Lotus Sect and a branch of the Eight Trigram Sect, he continued toward the gambling house.

After visiting gambling houses for several days straight, he had learned nothing.

One night, he practiced the Seven Injuries Fist in the forest.

Name: Su Que (17 years old)

Lifespan: 71

Talent Value: 12

Martial Arts: Seven Injuries Fist (5th realm Peak Mastery 15%), Five Animal Frolics (1st realm Initial Glimpse 1%)

Several days had already passed, yet his Seven Injuries Fist progress had risen by only 2%.

And that was with medicinal power stimulating him at every moment.

"Without an internal cultivation technique or a better prescription, the Seven Injuries Fist will be difficult to improve!"

Over the following days, Su Que still set aside time each day to visit the gambling houses and gather information.

After four days of inquiries, he had once again gained nothing.

Until the fifth day, when he heard a piece of information from two jianghu men.

Eighty li outside Jade Water City stood a Lu Family Manor.

Its master, Lu Jutian, was a Four-Blood Warrior. The internal cultivation technique he practiced was called the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill."

His grandfather had learned it from a martial arts master through a fortuitous coincidence.

A hundred years ago, this internal cultivation technique had once stunned the age.

Those who practiced it advanced extremely quickly, and the internal power they unleashed was extraordinarily fierce.

Yet as time passed, martial artists discovered something unusual.

Those who practiced this skill would suddenly vanish from the martial world when their fame was at its blazing peak, only to reappear more than a decade later.

More than ten years after that, martial artists finally discovered that while the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" advanced quickly and produced formidable internal power—

It possessed a flaw that had once been utterly inconceivable.

The internal power cultivated through the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" was exceedingly fierce and unyielding, inflicting hidden injuries upon the meridians, flesh, and blood.

When the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" had reached sixty or seventy percent completion, one had to disperse it entirely or pass it on to another person.

Otherwise, the internal power of the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" would destroy the practitioner's body.

And when the secret of the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" was made public, it happened to reach Lu Jutian's generation.

Now, rumors in the martial world claimed that Lu Jutian's "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" had likely reached sixty or seventy percent completion.

Therefore, to preserve his martial arts, Lu Jutian should disperse all the internal power of the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill."

Once he dispersed his internal power, Lu Jutian's strength would surely plummet. He might not even be a match for a One-Blood Warrior.

Other than Lu Jutian, the strongest people in Lu Family Manor were Lu Jutian's three sons, all Two-Blood Warriors, and there was nothing to fear from them.

Even if one son inherited his father's internal power, he presumably would not reach the Four-Blood realm, and would absolutely be no match for his father before he dispersed his cultivation.

Although the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill" of Lu Family Manor was not something many martial artists wished to practice, the manor also stored quite a few martial arts manuals.

These had been seized by three generations of the Lu Family from elsewhere.

Many martial artists below the Four-Blood realm wished to try their luck at Lu Family Manor, to see whether they could seize one or two martial arts manuals while the Lu Family Manor's strength had declined.

"The Wedding Dress Divine Skill damages the meridians, flesh, and blood during cultivation..."

"Isn't that perfect for me!"

After hearing the news, Su Que left the gambling house.

That evening, he told his elder sister Su Jing that a wealthy gentleman outside Jade Water City had invited him to teach the clan's children their first lessons, and that he might not return home for several days.

The original owner had always been honest, so his sister Su Jing did not suspect he would lie. She even warned him that bandits were plentiful along the roads and feared something might happen to him.

But Su Que said that he would leave the city with the escort convoy of a major escort agency. With their protection, he should face no danger.

Early the next morning, Su Que rose, packed his bundle, requested leave from the School, and headed for Lu Family Manor.

According to the information he had received, Lu Family Manor stood in Tenglong Town. Its estate occupied nearly half the town, and it was a renowned wealthy household in the area.

Su Que moved swiftly, choosing only deserted places to run through.

Before half a shichen had passed, he arrived at Tenglong Town.

After entering the town, he saw all kinds of people from the martial world.

Some carried weapons. Some were built like oxen, their arms thicker than ordinary people's thighs. Some had bulging temples, while others bore scars running across their faces...

It looks like they've all come to try their luck at Lu Family Manor.

Su Que chose an inn and settled in.

While eating on the inn's first floor, he heard martial artists discussing Lu Family Manor.

Because they did not know whether Lu Jutian had dispersed his cultivation, none of them dared act rashly.

They only hoped that someone else would lose patience and serve as the vanguard.

Su Que had come solely for the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill."

This internal cultivation method had once stunned the age a century ago, yet now was almost completely ignored.

Once Lu Family Manor was overrun by the martial artists, he only needed to go directly and find the manual for the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill."

No one would likely fight him for it, either.

Su Que remained in town for two days.

More and more martial artists gathered in town.

The air was thick with the scent of drawn swords and bent bows.

Su Que could clearly sense that the martial artists were growing increasingly unable to restrain themselves.

He even heard some of them, while eating, preparing to join forces and attack Lu Family Manor together.

Another day passed. Then Lu Jutian's eldest son, Lu Jianghai, suddenly appeared and announced that Lu Family Manor's Scripture Pavilion would be opened, inviting martial artists to enter and read.

Since Lu Jutian himself had not appeared, most of them became certain that he had already dispersed his cultivation.

Lu Jianghai's move was meant to prevent the many martial artists from harming the Lu Family.

After all, the martial artists had come for martial arts manuals. By opening the Scripture Pavilion for everyone to browse, many of them would have achieved their purpose.

If anyone tried to seize the books within the Scripture Pavilion during this time, they would incur everyone's wrath.

Thus, the martial artists who had originally planned to attack Lu Family Manor immediately abandoned the idea.

Afterward, the martial artists surged toward Lu Family Manor like a dark tide.

Su Que did not know whether Lu Family Manor had laid an ambush.

He waited for a day and saw that the martial artists who had entered on the first day emerged safe and sound.

Only on the second day did he follow the newly arrived martial artists inside.

Lu Family Manor was vast, with winding corridors twisting through nine turns and eighteen bends.

Led in circles by servants, they finally reached the Lu Family Manor's Scripture Pavilion.

The Scripture Pavilion stood three stories tall, with upturned eaves spread like a bird's wings. At its entrance stood a vermilion gate as tall as two men, making the place look most imposing.

After entering with the martial artists, Su Que saw the dazzling array of books within the pavilion.

All manner of bamboo slips and bound volumes were piled layer upon layer on the shelves.

The sight left him utterly amazed.

Neither in his previous life nor this one had he ever seen such a scene.

It was the result of three generations of the Lu Family accumulating books over more than a century.

No wonder people wanted to seize the collection as soon as they heard the Lu Family had weakened.

Su Que searched carefully, floor by floor.

He wanted to find the Wedding Dress Divine Skill among the layers of stacked volumes.

After searching for most of the day, Su Que had gone through the entire Scripture Pavilion twice and became certain—

The Scripture Pavilion did not contain Lu Family Manor's primary internal cultivation technique, the Wedding Dress Divine Skill.

Just as Su Que was considering how to obtain the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill," he suddenly heard a commotion from the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

"The White Lotus Sect is here!"

"The White Lotus Sect is here!"

A group of martial artists cried out in low voices as they loosened their hair and took masks from their clothes, putting them over their faces.

The White Lotus Sect most loved to let calamity spread to one's family. These martial artists all concealed their faces, lest White Lotus Disciples remember what they looked like.

In an instant, the Scripture Pavilion was filled with people with disheveled hair and masked faces.

"Hey, friend, did you buy your mask at East Market in Jade Water City too? How much did you pay?"

One martial artist glanced at the person beside him and asked.

"I paid ten copper coins when I bought mine."

"Damn it, that stallholder charged me twelve copper coins!"

Su Que also followed suit, loosening his hair before taking a Monkey Mask from his clothes and putting it on.