A master reveals himself with a single move.
The moment Lu Bei gripped his saber, his entire bearing changed. He went from a Pretty Boy who could be safely ignored to a razor-sharp steel saber, a biting killing intent howling down and leaving Feng Si utterly shaken.
Not good. I fell into his trap.
This kid had been playing the pig to eat the tiger, pretending he knew nothing about martial arts.
If Lu Bei were severely lopsided in his studies, proficient in saber techniques but only a paper warrior with his fists and feet, Feng Si would never have believed it. Mastery of one discipline led to mastery of them all. That was how martial arts worked. Even if there were differences, they would never be worlds apart.
Obviously, there was only one possibility.
Feng Si drew a deep breath and saw through the truth. Lu Bei had pretended his martial skills were crude, luring out Feng Si, who had been watching from the shadows.
How hateful. It was bad enough that this man's cultivation was formidable, but his scheming was just as deep.
Feng Si was dealt a heavy blow. Before the second round had even begun, his momentum weakened of its own accord.
On the other side, Lu Bei gave a cold snort. The Blood Rage skill activated. Capture + judgment succeeded, instantly halving all of Feng Si's attributes.
The pressure of his bearing rose like a perilous peak thrusting from the earth, too lofty to climb and terrifying to behold.
Feng Si's face went pale. Intimidated by Lu Bei's explosively increased destructive power, his hands and feet weakened and slackened against his will. Greatly alarmed, he thought, This place is not safe to linger. I have to get away as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the moment the thought arose, it was already too late.
A cold gleam swept toward his face. Feng Si hurriedly raised his short saber to block, but before he could see what had happened, a tremendous force sent him tumbling through the air and crashing into the wall.
Dark Tide Lv3 Array Slaying Saber Technique Lv5
Combined with Blood Rage's effect of halving all attributes, Lu Bei seriously injured Feng Si with one move, completing his first true battle.
[You defeated Feng Si and gained 2,000 experience points. Having won your first battle, the opponent's level was judged, granting an additional 20,000 experience points.]
"This guy was worth twenty-two thousand?"
Lu Bei put away the Hundred Refinements Blade and strode toward Feng Si in the corner. The Hundred Refinements Blade had chipped upon impact, suffering heavy damage; twenty thousand experience points were not enough to make up for it. He needed to inspect Feng Si's Qiankun Bag and see whether it held anything of equal value.
The Qiankun Bag was a low-level spatial item that anyone with cultivation could open. But that was not absolute. Some experts who pursued a return to antiquity liked to make their spatial items look like Qiankun Bags.
Special-grade encryption. Only the owner could open it.
In terms of strength, Feng Si, who was still muddling through his third year, was not that kind of expert.
"Cough, cough..."
Feng Si clutched his short saber and propped himself up against the wall. His hair hung loose, his clothes streaked with blood. He looked like a wounded lone wolf—so unyielding, so tragic, so...
Bang!
A straight punch, then Lu Bei withdrew his hand.
The lone wolf rolled his eyes and collapsed. Lu Bei fished the Qiankun Bag from Feng Si's chest, opened it, and glanced inside. Then he took out Blood Replenishing Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, and other healing medicines and stuffed them into Feng Si's mouth.
A short while later, Feng Si slowly woke. He looked at Lu Bei in confusion, unable to understand why the other man had helped him.
"Strangers become friends through fighting. I know you didn't mean to do anything to me. From now on, we're friends." Lu Bei extended his hand, intending to force a friendship, but when he saw that Feng Si's hand was covered in blood, he withdrew his own with a look of disgust.
Feng Si: "..."
"Pass a message to Young Master Kui. I have no ulterior motive. I truly intend to make friends with him. I hope that when I visit again, the gates of Zhu Mansion will be open to me."
Lu Bei got to his feet and dusted off his backside. He waved to the coachman hesitating outside the alley, then added, "To show my sincerity, I won't report today's matter to the authorities. Otherwise, if the prefect finds out, Young Master Kui will have to suffer another scolding."
The carriage departed the alley. Feng Si gritted his teeth and crawled to his feet, reaching toward the Qiankun Bag at his chest to take out some medicine.
The moment he touched it, his expression darkened.
This is bad. The token is gone!
Wei Manor.
Wei Mao was rereading military-training texts in his study when Lu Bei knocked on the door and entered, placing a token on the desk.
"Cousin, take a look at this. Which sect's token is it?"
"Ascension Gate Sect."
Wei Mao glanced at it and gave him the answer.
"Sounds impressive. What kind of sect is it?" Lu Bei frowned. He seemed to have seen this sect on the forums before. Since there were countless sects in the Kyushu World and players discussed them in great numbers, he generally had little impression of any sect that was not a major one.
"A sect that excavates ancient tombs and ruins. It has a terrible reputation."
After saying that, Wei Mao looked up at Lu Bei. "Where did you get the token? Your Senior Sister Zhu never told me you had a friend like that."
"Not a friend. Just a random passerby. I picked it up from his Qiankun Bag." Lu Bei answered truthfully.
"Young Master Kui sent someone to retaliate against you?"
Wei Mao pressed him further, then added without waiting for Lu Bei to answer, "The usual rule. Ten thousand taels."
"Cousin, you're overthinking it. This time I'm only selling a favor, not making money." Lu Bei was speechless.
"You're capable of being that kindhearted?"
"Listen to yourself. I just want to make friends with Young Master Kui."
"I see. You're fishing with a long line to catch a big fish."
Wei Mao nodded in understanding, then continued, "Once you get the Silver Notes, I want ten thousand taels."
"Cousin, what kind of person do you take me for? I really am not doing this for money."
Lu Bei curled his lips and said sarcastically, "On the other hand, you're openly making your private money. Aren't you afraid I'll tell Senior Sister Zhu?"
Wei Mao's expression did not change. He stared straight at Lu Bei. "Given my wife's temperament, if you tell her the truth, she'll only make you pay another ten thousand taels. Whatever I have, she'll want a share of too."
"No wonder you're husband and wife..."
Lu Bei was convinced.
Meanwhile, back at Zhu Mansion, ever since Feng Si had left with Zhu Bo's instructions, Zhu Kui had vaguely begun to regret it.
What if the man had been seriously injured and refused to swallow the loss, taking the matter to Zhu Ting? Would Zhu Kui end up taking another fall?
Admittedly, with no evidence, even if Wei Mao went to the prefect's residence to demand an explanation, Zhu Ting would understand the situation in her heart but would not acknowledge it aloud. The matter basically could not stir up much trouble.
But what if?
What if he made another mistake in the future, and Zhu Ting dug up the old matter and punished him for all his offenses at once? He would still be the unlucky one.
Zhu Kui was caught between hope and fear. He cast a resentful look at Zhu Bo, who was playing with an antique. "Big Brother, there's no problem with Feng Si's side, right?"
Zhu Bo did not stop what he was doing. "I'll say it one last time. Fourth Brother knows his limits. A few superficial injuries won't cause any major trouble. Stop bothering me."
"But..."
"There are no buts. To catch a thief, catch the stolen goods; to catch an adulterer, catch them in the act. That kid has no witness and no evidence. What do you have to fear?"
Zhu Bo snorted coldly. "Even if he comes knocking, it'll be like shouting for a thief at an opened coffin and wronging the dead. Just report him to the authorities and have him driven away."
"Hopefully. But I..."
"Enough nonsense. When I arranged for Fourth Brother to leave, you weren't like this."
Zhu Bo saw straight through his younger brother's every thought and organ, showing no mercy as he said, "We agreed that this whole matter was your idea from beginning to end. If Big Uncle asks, it has nothing to do with me."
Brothers might be close, but accounts had to be settled clearly. Zhu Kui was the one seeking to vent his anger, so he had to be the one taking the fall.
"I..."
Zhu Kui was about to say something when a servant hurried in. "First Master, Second Master, a message has come from Master Feng Si."
"What message?"
"He said..."
The servant glanced at Zhu Kui and spoke cautiously. "He said Second Master tricked him, and the target was tougher than expected. He was seriously injured after taking only one move. If the other party had not held back, he might not have survived. He also said he had an important matter to discuss and asked First Master to hurry over."
"What?"
"Say that again!"
The two brothers froze in unison. After Zhu Bo pressed him for details and learned that Feng Si had sent the message while injured, his entire expression turned awful.
"Second Brother, you said that kid's cultivation was just a little bit—barely there, even inferior to yours?"
Zhu Bo's eyes widened. "Did falling on your head make you stupid? You call this a little bit?"
"Big Brother, calm down. This also... I'm certain I didn't see wrong. I... had my hand around his neck at the time."
Zhu Kui cried out his grievance. Even after racking his brains, he could not figure it out. Aggrieved, he said, "Perhaps he felt humiliated, went back and cultivated painstakingly, and then... managed to refine himself into this."
"I see. Second Brother, don't say that—it really is possible!"
"Really, Big Brother? You think so too?"
"Heh, radishes on a grave—you think you can fool ghosts here?"
Zhu Bo put away the antique and strode outside. "I'm going to see Feng Si. If you don't want Big Uncle to... don't want to walk home at night and take a fall, prepare a gift and send it to Wei Manor!"
Before you continue