Oblivion

Lu Changfeng and Chun Zhu lived within the small courtyard.

Half a month later, the first batch of Silkworm Seeds hatched into adult insects.

Consuming the adult Exotic Beast meat was far more effective than the inferior Earth Dragon meat jerky, but it was not easy to preserve.

Lu Changfeng kept some adult insects for himself and Chun Zhu to consume, and successfully turned the rest into jerky.

One Silkworm Seed laid eggs once a day, thirty eggs at a time.

After fifteen days of development, the eggs grew into adult insects, and Lu Changfeng had thirty Exotic Beast Silkworms.

However, the volume of Exotic Beast Silkworm meat was much smaller than Earth Dragon meat.

Roughly speaking, Lu Changfeng now had to consume two-thirds of a single Silkworm Seed's output.

Chun Zhu's consumption was very low; she didn't even need half of the remaining third.

The leftovers were combined with the output of another Silkworm Seed and made into Exotic Beast meat jerky for storage.

Thus, aside from training, Lu Changfeng and Chun Zhu's daily life was quite busy.

Busy air-drying and marinating the Exotic Beast meat, and when the sun was out, they would lay it out to dry.

There was no helping it; the existence of Exotic Beast meat could not be exposed. Lu Changfeng currently did not have enough strength to reveal it publicly.

He could only bear the hardship himself.

However, with the aid of the Silkworm meat, both Lu Changfeng and Chun Zhu's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

This feeling of rapidly growing strength was utterly intoxicating!

After more than forty days, Lu Changfeng and Chun Zhu gradually grew accustomed to their secluded life in the small courtyard.

Lu Family Courtyard.

A horse carriage slowly came to a stop before the Lu Family Courtyard.

A burly man carrying a box knocked on the door.

Lu Changfeng opened the door, nodded at the burly man upon seeing him, and took the box.

Closing the courtyard gate, he opened the box, and a Human Truncheon appeared before Lu Changfeng's eyes.

It was none other than Liu Hong of the Liu Family.

In the great battle that had wiped out the Liu Family before, Lu Changfeng had taken a liking to Liu Hong's Mid-grade Talent, so he had carved Liu Hong into a Human Truncheon.

He had handed him over to Liu Ye for safekeeping.

It seemed that Liu Hong was living quite well under the Liu Family's care.

Perhaps he could let Lu Changfeng copy him a few more times.

Today marked Lu Changfeng's sixth copy refresh of the year, so he had Liu Ye send over the Human Truncheon, Liu Hong.

"Copy for me!"

"Copy Success!"

"You have obtained Mid-grade Talent [Saber Art]!"

The copy succeeded, and Lu Changfeng placed the vacant-eyed Liu Hong back into the box.

Liu Ye had said that by supplementing him with some liquid food every day, he could be kept alive for a long time.

After copying the talent, Lu Changfeng took out a Blood Tempering Realm saber technique he had prepared earlier, the [Falling Leaf Saber Technique].

Now that he had Exotic Beast meat, his training speed had greatly increased, and coupled with the rapid progress of [Mount Le's Wrathful Vajra], he could start learning a new martial art.

Having just copied the [Saber Art] talent, Lu Changfeng chose to cultivate this [Falling Leaf Saber Technique], which he had purchased for three hundred taels of silver from a place specializing in martial arts sales in the Inner City.

Lu Changfeng had also specially bought a Refined Long Saber. Of course, it couldn't compare to the treasure-grade Autumn Water Longsword, but it was good enough for now.

The Falling Leaf Saber Technique and the Gale Sword Technique were completely different in type.

The Gale Sword Technique emphasized speed and explosive power, suitable for surprise attacks and kills.

The Falling Leaf Saber Technique, on the other hand, focused on a dense saber formation, suitable for entanglement and defense.

One saber, one sword—this gave Lu Changfeng two distinct combat styles, which was quite excellent.

With the support of the Mid-grade Talent [Saber Art], Lu Changfeng quickly gained a basic grasp of the [Falling Leaf Saber Technique] and set out toward the next realm.

Thus, another copy cycle passed.

In winter, Lu Changfeng copied [Saber Art] from Liu Hong once more.

The weather was cold, and to prevent Liu Hong from freezing to death, Lu Changfeng usually kept him by the stove to warm himself.

In order to synthesize a high-grade saber-type talent, Lu Changfeng took very careful care of him.

As it stood now, it seemed he could last through two more copy cycles, allowing Lu Changfeng to successfully synthesize a high-grade saber-type talent!

Additionally, with the help of the Silkworm Meat, Lu Changfeng had gradually perfected his Blood Tempering Fourth Level.

In a few more months, he should be able to break through to Blood Tempering Fifth Level.

As the year drew to a close, this year's gains and growth had been quite good.

Both Lu Changfeng and Chun Zhu were in high spirits.

Lu Changfeng specially set up a hotpot in the courtyard, preparing the seasonings himself and using top-quality ingredients, earning endless praise from Chun Zhu as they ate.

A knock came from the courtyard door.

Lu Changfeng put down his bowl and chopsticks and went to open the door.

Outside stood Lu Changfeng's 'disciple,' Black Ox.

The small courtyard wasn't suitable for Black Ox, so he usually stayed at the Changle Martial Arts School to train.

"Master, the Grandmaster is dying!"

As soon as Black Ox spoke, Lu Changfeng's expression changed.

"Let's go!"

Lu Changfeng threw on an outer robe and headed to the Changle Martial Arts School with Black Ox.

At the Changle Martial Arts School, in the secluded courtyard where Master Zhang Desheng lived, Liu Ye and several senior Registered Disciples were present.

"Go on in, Master is waiting for you. Second Senior Brother is inside too," Liu Ye said.

Lu Changfeng nodded, pushed open the door, and walked in.

"Master, it's Changfeng here!" Zhou Feng was by the bedside, speaking to Zhang Desheng, who lay on the bed.

Lu Changfeng stepped forward and saw that Zhang Desheng had withered to skin and bones.

The once two-meter-tall, robust little giant of a man was no more.

His complexion was dark, his face full of Death Aura.

Although Lu Changfeng had sensed over the past half-year that his master's life was nearing its end, seeing his master's current state in person was deeply shocking. For the first time since his transmigration, facing the life and death of someone important pulled Lu Changfeng out of this world's mystical martial arts.

This world, like the one before, had birth, aging, sickness, and death!

If one didn't want to die, they had to train to become stronger!

At the end of the martial path, perhaps there was immortality—a way to escape the sea of suffering!

"Changfeng, you've finally returned. You are my most accomplished disciple, but it's a pity I won't live to see the day you soar," Zhang Desheng said slowly.

As he spoke, his eyes struggled to focus but failed, only able to vaguely see Lu Changfeng's silhouette without making out his features.

Even just looking like this, Zhang Desheng was content—at least before his passing, so many disciples surrounded him.

"Don't grieve. In truth, I received a fatal injury on New Year's Eve last year. I should have died long ago. Living on for another year is already a stroke of luck, and I've managed to settle my affairs."

"You two, I originally planned to leave the martial arts school to Changfeng, but now Changfeng hasn't grown strong yet, and I'm dying decades early. The school can't be sustained by just the few of you."

"So I've taken the liberty of selling off this prime piece of land the school sits on, for fifty thousand taels of silver."

"Adding the school's remaining funds, I've gathered a total of eighty thousand taels under this bed, along with some Martial Arts Cultivation Techniques. You three senior and junior brothers can split them evenly."

"If you have the ability in the future, revive the Changle Martial Arts School. If not, don't dwell on it."

"After the school disbands, all of you go hide in the Inner City. Find a way to join the Wang Family or other noble families. Turbulent times are coming; clinging to the powerful to survive is nothing shameful."

"Ah, that's enough. Call Liu Ye in; I have a few more words for her."

Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng exchanged a glance and quietly stepped back.

But before they had retreated far, they sensed that the old man's breath on the bed had ceased entirely.

Zhang Desheng was dead.