Swordsman

Name: Wang Yue

Bones: Grade A Mid

Talent: Mid-grade Talent [Light Body]

Wang Yue's bones were, in Lu Changfeng's own observation, the strongest he had ever seen—Grade A Mid.

No wonder at just sixteen, she had already reached the Blood Tempering Fourth Level.

Moreover, Wang Yue possessed the Mid-grade Talent [Light Body].

This girl's Light Body Skill was undoubtedly exceptional.

Wang Yue's overtures to Lu Changfeng stopped at just the right point.

Soon, a dozen or so attendants clustered around Wang Yue as she rode out of the Wang Family estate on horseback.

At the Inner City gate, they merged with the retinues of other noble scions, eventually forming a procession of over a hundred people that surged toward the outskirts of Fengcheng.

Their destination was none other than Fengtian Lake, just outside Fengcheng.

Fengtian Lake, a freshwater lake thirty li from Fengcheng, had a long history and picturesque scenery.

The vast lake remained calm and windless year-round, reflecting the sky so clearly it seemed to gently cradle it—hence the name Fengtian.

The "Feng" in Fengcheng was itself taken from Fengtian Lake.

The procession arrived in full force at an open area by the lake.

Nearby fishermen were naturally driven away.

The servants set up tents, while the young masters and ladies boarded pre-prepared pleasure boats.

The boats were lavishly decorated, stocked with pastries, fruits, and everything one could want.

These young nobles enjoying the countryside outside the city seemed to belong to a different world from the commoners of the Outer City.

As a guard, Lu Changfeng followed Wang Yue onto the boat along with three others.

Once aboard.

The distance between people shrank.

Lu Changfeng began secretly probing the bones and talents of these young masters.

After some investigation, Lu Changfeng made a significant discovery: among these young ladies and gentlemen, several had bones at Grade A Lower.

One young man even matched Wang Yue with Grade A Mid bones!

The bloodlines of these noble families, refined over generations, indeed gave their descendants better average bones than common folk.

As for talents, Lu Changfeng also found an unexpected surprise.

Ye Sheng, the Third Young Master of the Ye Family, had Grade A Lower bones but possessed a High-grade Talent [Dark Strike]. From the name, it was likely a talent for hidden weapons or the like.

Lu Changfeng happened to lack a long-range attack talent, so he immediately noted [Dark Strike] on his future replication list.

However, the Ye Family was one of the second-tier families in Fengcheng, second only to the Wang Family. He would need to find a way to build a connection with this Ye Sheng to facilitate future replication.

As Lu Changfeng was pondering this.

Wang Yue ran into trouble.

Tong Zhan, the eldest son of the Tong Family, was openly provoking Wang Yue.

The Tong Family was also a second-tier family in Fengcheng; Tong Zhan should not have dared to provoke Wang Yue.

On the surface, that was true, but in reality, their positions within their respective families differed.

Tong Zhan was the eldest son of the Tong Family, essentially the confirmed heir.

Wang Yue, on the other hand, was the Sixth Miss of the Wang Family. Though her bones were outstanding, the Wang Family had more than one rising star.

The Wang Family's Second Young Master was said to have even better bones than Wang Yue!

All things considered, Wang Yue might well be relegated to a Collateral Branch of the Wang Family.

Thus, Tong Zhan dared to provoke her.

By the time Lu Changfeng snapped back to attention, Tong Zhan had already challenged Wang Yue to a contest of their subordinates' blade skills.

It started when a group of young masters were discussing blade techniques.

When Wang Yue offered her opinion, Tong Zhan directly picked a fight, which eventually escalated into a proposal to each send someone for a blade duel.

The process was childish, but every young master and lady present could see that Tong Zhan was trying to humiliate Wang Yue.

Looking deeper, this was the Tong Family testing the Wang Family's limits.

Wang Yue's expression remained calm as she stepped forward, but Lu Changfeng, standing beside her, could still detect the faint tension she betrayed.

This girl aimed to become the Wang Family heir. She had high aspirations and performed well, but she was still a bit young.

Still, this gave Lu Changfeng an opportunity.

It was predictable that Lu Changfeng would spend a long time parasitizing the Wang Family, replicating various bones and talents and learning martial arts.

Building a good relationship with Wang Yue, the ambitious Sixth Miss of the Wang Family, would be very beneficial to him.

At that moment, Tong Zhan had already sent out a bald blade-wielding subordinate at the Blood Tempering Fifth Level.

Lu Changfeng swept a glance over him—indeed, he possessed a lower-grade Blade Technique Talent. No wonder Tong Zhan dared to send this man out.

Wang Yue, meanwhile, was still agonizing over whom to dispatch.

Sending Mo Tian, who was in the Muscle Tendon Realm, would be bullying and hard to justify.

As for the other three retainers—

Shangguan Zheng dabbled in martial arts across the board, but his performance was mediocre.

Liu An, on the other hand, specialized in martial arts, but his specialty was swordsmanship.

Lu Ren—

Wang Yue's gaze fell on Lu Changfeng's back, where a blade and a sword were strapped.

"Lu Ren, are you skilled in blade techniques?"

Lu Changfeng's expression was calm. "So-so, I suppose."

Wang Yue's face dimmed slightly. Those words didn't sound like Lu Ren had much confidence.

But Lu Changfeng followed up with a remark that bolstered her spirits: "Still, dealing with that bald one in front of us shouldn't be a problem."

Tong Zhan and his blade-wielding subordinate both changed expression.

Wang Yue couldn't help but cover her mouth with a chuckle. "Then, Retainer Lu, please step forward. Let them see whether the Wang Family's blade techniques are sharper."

Lu Changfeng gave a slight nod in response.

Soon, the center of the pleasure boat's deck was cleared, and Lu Changfeng stood opposite the bald blade-wielding subordinate of the Tong Family.

"Old Hu, take his arm off! Let him be so arrogant!" Tong Zhan called out, trying to pressure Lu Changfeng.

At those words, before Wang Yue could speak, Mo Tian shot Tong Zhan a fierce glare.

Though Mo Tian was also a retainer, his cultivation realm spoke for itself, and Tong Zhan wisely shut his mouth, silently vowing to bring a Muscle Tendon Realm retainer of his own next time.

"Then let's begin," Wang Yue said softly.

As her voice fell, the bald blade-wielder surnamed Hu swiftly drew his blade and slashed at Lu Changfeng—fast and sharp!

Clearly, he had trained in a quick-blade martial art!

Lu Changfeng was a beat slower, pulling his long blade from his back and suppressing his strength to appear at the Blood Tempering Fifth Level.

He executed the Falling Leaf Saber Technique at its Perfection realm, a light spin easily blocking the bald blade-wielder's first strike!

But this was only the beginning.

"Ha!" The bald blade-wielder let out a roar and began striking continuously, each slash faster than the last.

Clearly, this middle-aged blade-wielder in his forties had also cultivated this blade technique to its Perfection realm.

But who was Lu Changfeng?

Lu Changfeng was a peerless blade-wielder with a High-grade Blade Technique Talent—[Blade Supremacy]!

Lu Changfeng's expression remained composed as he drew his blade unhurriedly, effortlessly blocking each of the bald blade-wielder's strikes.

Not only that, but as the bald blade-wielder continued his assault, he noticed Lu Changfeng blocking his attacks with increasing ease.

This was Lu Changfeng's [Blade Supremacy] talent at work—he had already begun analyzing the bald blade-wielder's blade technique patterns during the fight, and was refining his own response with the Falling Leaf Saber Technique!

The sky was azure, the lake still, and on the pleasure boat's deck, the richly dressed youths watched with awe in their eyes. At the center, two blade-wielders—one attacking, one defending—presented a striking tableau.

The scene was sharp yet tinged with elegance.

Lu Changfeng sensed that something was about to be born within his center.