Assassination Attempt

After dinner, Chen Xuan began leading the servants who had returned in tidying up the household. Bored out of his mind, Chen Luo took Ji Zhong, who was waiting for an update, out for a stroll. This filled Ji Zhong with resentment.

"Such fine time, and instead of writing, you want to go shopping!" Ji Zhong muttered under his breath.

Chen Luo shot Ji Zhong a sideways glance. "What did you say?"

"No, nothing..." Ji Zhong quickly waved his hands and asked, "I was just wondering who would win between the Sunflower Manual and the Nine Swords of Dugu."

Chen Luo looked at Ji Zhong with a strange expression. "The Sunflower Manual is stronger. Would you practice it?" He then cast a meaningful glance at a certain part of Ji Zhong's body. Ji Zhong instantly felt a chill run through him and hurriedly shook his head. "No way, I'd never practice it even if you killed me."

Then Ji Zhong sighed in admiration. "I never imagined that a Jianghu story about ordinary people who can't cultivate could be so thrilling! Young master truly has great talent. What a pity you're not a disciple of our Confucian school, or you'd surely become a great scholar!"

Chen Luo ignored Ji Zhong's flattery and asked, "Ji Zhong, is there a method of martial cultivation for warriors in this world?"

It had always struck Chen Luo that something was missing from this world's cultivation system. Before sages, celestial lords, and buddhas appeared, how had humanity survived? Tempering the physical body should have been humanity's most primitive path of cultivation.

"Warriors?" Ji Zhong was taken aback for a moment, then thought it over and said, "Do you mean the path that focuses solely on training the body?"

Chen Luo nodded.

Ji Zhong pondered for a moment before replying, "The Barbarian God lineage of the barbarian tribes follows this path of cultivation. I once saw a Barbarian Warrior equivalent to a Writing Realm Confucian scholar who could withstand the 'lip swords and tongue spears' of poetry with his bare body. It took five Writing Realm scholars working together to surround and kill him."

"The Ascetic Realm of the Buddhist school also cultivates the physical body, no less than the barbarians."

"Additionally, in the common Jianghu, there are many fighting techniques passed down. Experts among them can cultivate internal energy. However, when facing cultivators, they are still no match and can only dominate among ordinary people."

"Other than that, I've never heard of any other physical cultivation methods. The internal energy and divine techniques in your story, young master, do have a certain air of cultivation about them—novel and unique—but unfortunately, they're just a story."

A flash of inspiration crossed Chen Luo's mind, but he couldn't grasp it. After thinking for a moment, he had no choice but to let it go.

As the two chatted, they walked from Xi'an Street all the way to Zishui Street, the busiest street in Wan'an County. Lined with various shops on both sides and many street vendors along the way, it could be called Wan'an County's CBD commercial district.

The Chen family owned three shops on this street: a rice shop, a cloth shop, and a pawnshop. Due to the earlier Demon Tiger incident, all three shops had been closed and only reopened yesterday.

"Since we're here, let's take a look!" Chen Luo said casually, leading Ji Zhong toward the nearest rice shop. Suddenly, Ji Zhong's brow furrowed, and he stepped in front of Chen Luo, softly shouting, "Guard!"

The moment Ji Zhong's words left his mouth, Chen Luo heard the sound of a poem in his mind.

The tall pine stands apart from the common trees, Accompanying me toward the horizon!

As the couplet from Tall Pine was recited, a towering pine tree appeared before Ji Zhong. With a "clang," it seemed as though an attack struck the pine. Almost simultaneously, a phantom bird flew out from the pine tree, shooting toward the second floor of a tea house by the roadside. With a loud "bang," a tall man eight feet in stature leaped out from a private tea room window on that street, his gaze fixed on Chen Luo's direction. Before the man even landed, he flung his hand toward Chen Luo again, sending countless silver needles as fine as hair shooting at him.

Ji Zhong remained unfazed and uttered another word: "Wind!"

The spring branches grow old, unable to bear the cold, A sudden gale arrives at the painted rail overnight. All the crimson petals fly away, falling on mossy paths, Tomorrow they'll still be seen as a brocade mat.

As Ji Zhong's word "wind" left his mouth, a fierce gale sprang up out of nowhere, even dropping the temperature a few degrees. This wind blew head-on into the incoming silver needles, which instantly swayed like withered flowers and willows in the storm, weightless, and were swept to the roadside, falling to the ground one after another. Only then did everyone see clearly that those silver needles were actually just strands of animal hair.

By then, the man had already landed, and his hat fell off, revealing a pair of large horse ears.

"Horse Demon!" The crowd erupted in alarm and scattered. Suddenly, a white light flashed on the ground, and a circle seemed to form, about to trap the man. It appeared that Cai Tongchen had noticed the situation and activated "Draw Ground as Prison" again.

But the man was unhurried. A golden light flashed on his thigh, and his entire body appeared outside the circle of light from "Draw Ground as Prison" as if by magic.

"A horse demon's divine ability—Leap Sky! This is a Blood Refining Level horse demon." Ji Zhong whispered to Chen Luo, guarding him closely.

The horse demon shook its form, transforming into a white stallion, the blood-red patterns on its forehead exceptionally conspicuous. After glancing back at Chen Luo, it intended to use "Leap Sky" to escape, but a cold snort suddenly echoed above Wan'an County.

"Still!" A single word exploded like thunder, spreading through the air. The horse demon's body faltered slightly, and the "Leap Sky" activation failed. Almost simultaneously, an even more dazzling white light flickered beneath the horse demon's feet. This time, the white light quickly enveloped the horse demon, leaving it no chance to escape.

"That's the divine ability 'Great Words of Meaning'—a great scholar has intervened!" Ji Zhong said. Chen Luo nodded; he had already recognized that the cold snort came from Wei Yan.

A cyan cloud flew out from the county office. Cai Tongchen, holding the Official Seal, stood atop the cyan cloud and arrived at Zishui Street in moments.

Cai Tongchen first landed before Chen Luo and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Are you injured?"

Chen Luo shook his head. Cai Tongchen then walked toward the horse demon. But at that moment, between Cai Tongchen and the horse demon, a palm-sized distortion suddenly appeared in space. From within the distorted space, two beams of black light shot out simultaneously, one aimed at Cai Tongchen and the other at the horse demon. Just as Cai Tongchen raised his Official Seal to resist, Wei Yan's figure appeared before him, blocking the black light with his hand. The other beam pierced through the barrier of auspicious white light and struck the horse demon's body. At a speed almost visible to the naked eye, the horse demon's fur and flesh corroded away, leaving only a skeleton!

Wei Yan raised his palm and saw that the skin on his hand, where he had blocked the black light, was curling back, showing signs of decay. Cai Tongchen was horrified. "Master!"

A cyan light flashed on Wei Yan's palm, slowly gathering at the curled spot and gradually eroding the black energy.

"Nether Energy, after all!" Wei Yan frowned slightly, ignoring Cai Tongchen's concerned gaze, and walked over to Chen Luo. "Kid, do you know that horse demon?"

Chen Luo shook his head slightly, his mind racing. "Senior, is the opponent formidable?"

"The horse demon is nothing special, but the person behind it has some skill—able to use the Nether Energy Death Ray unique to the Nether Land. When did you offend someone with such a background?"

Chen Luo thought for a moment. "If we're talking about a big background, I think I know who it is."

Cai Tongchen rushed over. "Who?"

Just as Chen Luo was about to explain, he suddenly thought of something. "Oh no, Chen Xuan is at home!"

Chen Luo immediately turned and ran back. Ji Zhong followed closely. Cai Tongchen looked at Wei Yan, who glared at him. "I probably know who it is too. Let's see if that kid's guess matches mine!" With that, his figure flickered and vanished on the spot.

Cai Tongchen watched as Wei Yan took Chen Luo and Ji Zhong away, and a pang of bitterness rose in his heart. Master, have you lost your connection with me?

With ease, I recognize the east wind's face, Helping me climb the recommendation charts.

After a few chapters of necessary background introduction, a new plot unfolds. Soon, little Chen Xiaoluo will unlock his own path of cultivation.

And as for the Book Spirit of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer? I guarantee no one will guess it!