Martial Arts Academy

Xuanguo Estate.

Under the Osmanthus Tree.

The snow had already been cleared away completely, and several young servants were gathered together, chatting idly.

"I heard the Quicksand Gang and Golden Tide Gang in Five Horses Lane got into a bloody clash last night. Dozens of people died, and even the Five Cities Garrison was alerted and went over to suppress it during the night."

"I heard about that too. Apparently, the Quicksand Gang leader's concubine slept with one of his men. After it was exposed, that man took a few others and fled to join the Golden Tide Gang. Tsk, tsk."

As the young servants chatted, several maids and attendants passed by.

Xiao Mei came over from another direction. She happened to hear their conversation as she passed, but she had no interest in it and did not stop to listen. She simply continued on her way.

But just then, she heard someone say,

"By the way, the Black Water Gang on East Forest Street was wiped out yesterday. Apparently, everyone in the gang died inside that courtyard, down to the last man. Not a single person survived. I heard even the people from the Five Cities Garrison were being rather circumspect about it. No one knows exactly what happened."

One of the young servants spoke in a low voice.

The others were startled, and one said fearfully, "Could it have been demons or ghosts causing trouble?"

"Probably not. If there really were some demon or ghost, the commotion today would likely have been much greater. Maybe they offended someone they shouldn't have, and that person wiped them out."

Another person shook his head.

Xiao Mei, who was passing by nearby, suddenly halted. After standing dazed for a moment, a trace of bewilderment appeared in her eyes.

The Black Water Gang... had been wiped out?

She had thought day and night about taking revenge. That hatred had always been the driving force behind her struggle against fate. Yet now, all of a sudden, she had heard that the Black Water Gang had been destroyed.

The news had come so suddenly that she fell into a daze, even somewhat at a loss.

When she came to her senses,

the few young servants who had been chatting had already dispersed and gone elsewhere to continue working. Only she remained, standing not far from that enormous Osmanthus Tree.

Xiao Mei looked toward the backs of the people who had left. She wanted to catch up and ask whether the Black Water Gang had truly been wiped out, and who had done it. But then she suddenly thought of something.

Chen Mu had asked about the Black Water Gang!

Chen Mu had only just asked about them, and then the Black Water Gang had been wiped out. Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?

For a while, Xiao Mei did not even know what she was thinking. In a daze, she returned to the courtyard, where she encountered Ren Yan and asked him blankly,

"You should ask Second Master about that yourself."

Ren Yan replied.

He looked at Xiao Mei again and thought about the changes in her over the past two days. After some consideration, he added, "I did inquire about the Black Water Gang yesterday."

It was no secret. Xiao Mei could find out about it if she wanted to; it would simply be somewhat troublesome.

As for the Black Water Gang being wiped out overnight,

Ren Yan was also faintly shaken.

Perhaps no one else would associate this with Chen Mu, a bastard son in the Xuanguo Estate who possessed little influence. But he vaguely felt that this matter had something to do with his own Second Master.

Xiao Mei stared blankly as Ren Yan left.

If Chen Mu had simply set the matter of the Black Water Gang aside after asking her about it, then perhaps it had nothing to do with him. But Ren Yan had gone to inquire about the Black Water Gang—there were no such coincidences at every turn in this world.

Xiao Mei reached into her pocket and took out a damaged little jade token. The character "Mei" was engraved on it. It was a gift her elder sister had given her while she was alive, and now it was the only thing she had left.

She clenched the little jade token tightly in her palm.

"Elder Sister..."

Xiao Mei suddenly smiled, though a glimmer of tears shone in that smile.

She did not know how Chen Mu had done these things.

She was only an ordinary maidservant. In this life, she had nothing with which to repay Chen Mu's kindness, because her life had belonged to Chen Mu from the very beginning.

All she could do was offer this life, and all the lives to come. So long as Chen Mu needed her to follow him, then through every cycle of reincarnation, she would remain by his side and serve him.

At the same time.

Chen Mu had also returned to the Xuanguo Estate.

However, he did not return to his own small courtyard. Instead, he quietly went to a vast courtyard in the northern part of the Xuanguo Estate. Written above the main entrance were the words—

Martial Arts Academy!

Great Yuan revered martial prowess, and it was now a world where the strong were respected. As the grand Xuanguo Estate, its martial arts training grounds naturally occupied the most land and were the most important place in the entire estate.

However, the young masters and ladies of the Xuanguo Estate generally did not practice in the Martial Arts Academy. They would take martial arts techniques and training methods for themselves, then practice alone in their own courtyards, or ask instructors from the Martial Arts Academy for private guidance.

Those who practiced in the Martial Arts Academy were the private soldiers and servants cultivated by the Xuanguo Estate.

Great Yuan allowed nobles and meritorious families to cultivate private soldiers.

There was no limit on their number.

Because this was a world where the strong were respected, a single powerful warrior could stand against ten thousand soldiers. Aside from the extremely rare blood-qi formations that could affect powerful martial artists, ordinary numbers were fundamentally meaningless.

For the same reason, the estates of dukes and marquises did not cultivate large numbers of private soldiers. They generally valued quality over quantity, seeking out good prospects to purchase or subdue.

However,

the truly best and most promising candidates were usually taken by the Great Yuan Imperial Family. After that came the several princes of Great Yuan, then the vassal kings with different surnames, and only afterward the estates of dukes and marquises.

Thus, although the martial artists cultivated by the Xuanguo Estate could not be called poorly gifted, neither could they be considered geniuses. This was also one reason why the Xuanguo Estate currently had only one fourth-grade martial artist and several fifth-grade ones.

Chen Mu entered the Martial Arts Academy.

Because he had visited several times in his memories, he was not unfamiliar with the place despite this being his first visit in person. After entering, he went straight toward the rows of low buildings at the very back of the Martial Arts Academy.

Many people were practicing martial arts within the academy. They struck various poses; some had skin flushed red with surging blood, while others had fists glowing with a dark, eerie light.

All of them saw Chen Mu.

Some of the younger ones, whose blood qi was not particularly vigorous, immediately saluted Chen Mu. The older ones, whose blood and qi were more robust, merely gave him a slight nod in greeting.

Just then, a slightly surprised voice came from behind.

"Huh? Why has Second Brother come here?"

The voice was clear and pleasant.

Chen Mu turned to look and saw a girl of about seventeen or eighteen walking over from behind. She was pretty, with a heroic air between her brows, and wore a faintly surprised expression.

Although she looked slightly older than him, the girl merely had abundant blood qi and had developed better than girls her age. In reality, she was two months younger than him.

The girl was Chen Yao.

At first glance, Chen Mu noticed that her blood qi was even more vigorous than it had been a few days ago, when he had happened to observe it. Clearly, her cultivation over the past two days had yielded considerable results.

"I came to find a martial art to practice."

Chen Mu's expression was gentle.

Chen Yao walked up to him and blinked. As if she had thought of something, she rested her little hand against her chin and said, "Is Second Brother afraid Chen Xing will cause trouble? I heard about that matter. That sister-in-law was being utterly unreasonable. Hitting her was only right. Second Brother doesn't need to be afraid. If Chen Xing comes looking for trouble, I'll help you too..."

At this point, Chen Yao suddenly thought of something else. She gave a cheeky grin and said, "But it's a good thing that Second Brother wants to practice martial arts. Although you're starting a little late, you'll still make progress as long as you persevere. I'll help Second Brother choose the most suitable martial art."