Investigation IV

"Alright, that's all I have to say. As for Huanqing's matter, Rong Fang, don't worry about it. He'll recover soon, don't worry," Zhang Rongyu said with a smile.

Zhang Rongfang did not reply, but turned and walked towards the exit of the courtyard.

He paused again as he reached the doorway.

"Sister."

"?" Zhang Rongyu looked up.

"Is it worth gambling with your child?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"Everyone is born with their own destiny." Zhang Rongyu smiled. "His destiny is good. Since he has the opportunity, why not make it even better?"

What if we lose?

"He lost?" A hint of sadness appeared in Zhang Rongyu's eyes. "That's his fate. But the Confucian Sect have already told me that the chances of success are very high, otherwise so many people wouldn't be vying for it. Don't worry."

Zhang Rongfang didn't know what to say.

He had no right to speak at this point.

He had originally planned to ask Little Huan Qing what the things on her body were for, but now it seemed that his sister knew everything and understood everything.

Perhaps, these were things she had begged for in the first place.

He strode out of the Backyard and returned to the courtyard where Little Huan Qing was.

At this time, Zhang Huanqing was learning short sentences under the tutelage of a Confucian Sect teacher.

They used primers similar to the Three Character Classic.

Strangely, Little Huan Qing behaved much more normally with the teacher. He listened attentively and answered questions politely.

Although they are immature, that's just how children are.

Seemingly noticing Zhang Rongfang watching from a distance, Little Huan Qing's eyes flickered slightly when they swept over this side, and she immediately sat up even straighter.

Zhang Rongfang remained expressionless, but as he recalled his sister's earlier reply, a strange and complex feeling welled up inside him.

"Do you all know?" he suddenly asked.

Behind him, a figure appeared out of nowhere. The newcomer was dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit with red trim, had a healthy tan, a hot figure, and a cold and handsome face.

It is Li Zhen who is now in charge of guarding the entire Mu Chi Prefecture.

"I know," Li Zhen replied. "You probably already know a lot of things. So I won't hide anything from you."

"Please speak." Zhang Rongfang turned around and looked at the other person.

"This is an inevitable stage. The Sword Bell will gradually make Little Huan Qing's physique more suitable for martial arts, but there will be some negative effects in the process."

"This kind of influence usually disappears in about a year. It requires continuous, ongoing discipline, correction, and guidance during this period," Li Zhen explained.

"Is the Sword Bell the Purple Sword-shaped Accessory he wears?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"Exactly."

"What if I take it away?"

"It's already more than halfway done. Once the Sword Bell is taken away, Little Huan Qing will completely lose his mind, or his personality will change drastically, becoming worse than it is now, or even, he might go insane," Li Zhen replied.

Zhang Rongfang's five senses told him that Li Zhen might not have been lying.

Her blood flow rate and heartbeat remained unchanged.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Rongfang spoke again.

"Alright, then I'll wait a full year. If he doesn't recover within a year, I'll take away your so-called Sword Bell."

"You don't need to tell us, we will take the Sword Bell then," Li Zhen replied.

She wasn't lying to the other party. The purpose of the Sword Bell was actually to improve the physique and make the person more suitable to inherit one of the Gentleman's Sword.

If it doesn't work within a year, it means Zhang Huanqing is extremely unsuitable to Gentleman's Sword, and he will inevitably be eliminated.

By then, he wouldn't be able to continue even if he wanted to.

Zhang Rongfang said no more and turned to leave.

*** Wish Woman Canyon in Moon Empress.

Zhang Rongfang slowly rose from his seated position.

In one month, he accumulated another 40 attribute points, in addition to the previous amount.

This time, he did not immediately increase the stack of health points.

At this point, he actually has enough health points for the time being.

To complete the bloodline of the entire Blood Clan Progenitor, more than just forty attribute points are needed.

He needed to coordinate with Xue Tong to break away immediately, and to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, he needed more immediate combat power.

Therefore, Zhang Rongfang paused and his gaze fell on the Martial Arts Realm item in the Attribute Panel.

'Illusory Image Talisman Method - Grandmaster Full Moon.'

This level indicates that he has been stuck at the Grandmaster level for a long time.

Yes, it's been about a year.

If it were any other grandmaster, they probably wouldn't care at all after only a year.

But he is different; he has only been practicing martial arts for a few years.

A year is a really long time for him.

'Let's try again,' Zhang Rongfang decided.

The advancement to Great Grandmaster requires understanding and applying one's spiritual will and aura.

Ordinary Great Grandmaster can protect themselves through their own spiritual will and aura. They can also remain at the Final Form stage indefinitely. However, because the Final Form stage consumes a great deal of energy and has a significant and lasting impact on both body and mind, prolonged use may shorten lifespan. Therefore, ordinary Great Grandmaster require even higher levels of physical and mental well-being.

His physical strength is definitely not a problem. But mentally, Zhang Rongfang himself is unsure whether he has met the requirements.

After becoming a grandmaster, one basically relies on self-realization and there is no fixed path to follow.

After all, everyone's will and mind are unique. They cannot be copied.

He calmed himself down and, as was his habit, gently tapped the plus sign after the Illusory Image Talisman Method.

Because before this, he had actually tried many times in the past few days.

Smack

The plus sign blurred for a moment, then reappeared.

"Um?!"

Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang sensed that something was wrong.

A strange stinging sensation emanated from the first Blood Lotus on his back.

'Take the blood. Take it all. Hahahaha! You're the perfect one!!'

A vague, distorted sound suddenly echoed faintly in his mind.

Before Zhang Rongfang could recover, the Illusory Image Talisman Method in front of him once again displayed characters.

'Unknown Martial Art: Great Grandmaster (Defensive)'

It's done!?

Zhang Rongfang was suddenly startled, then opened his eyes wide and stared carefully at the Attribute Panel.

Twenty Attribute Points were lost. The Illusory Image Talisman Method did indeed disappear, replaced by Unknown Martial Art, and the title "Great Grandmaster" appeared afterward!

'It actually worked!!' He himself hadn't expected such a sudden and inexplicable breakthrough.

Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang remembered something a month ago that a bigwig from the Reverse Time Society had mentioned.

He didn't understand at the time.

But now, Zhang Rongfang's initial joy faded. He continued to modify the Unknown Martial Art into Illusory Image Talisman Method, and used them as before.

'Could it be that I really am mentally ill?' he wondered to himself.

'It slowly and imperceptibly developed into a mental illness without anyone noticing?'

'No, perhaps it's just because my willpower has increased that I barely reached the limit. It has nothing to do with mental illness.'

Zhang Rongfang shook his head slightly.

Recalling the stinging pain in his back just now, he quickly sensed the location of the Blood Lotus behind him to make sure there was nothing wrong.

Every step he takes now is in territory that no one has ever set foot in before, so he must be extremely careful.

Just as Zhang Rongfang focused his senses on the Blood Lotus, his expression suddenly changed.

Inside the first Blood Lotus, the patterns belonging to the Blood God seem to be even smaller!

It's at least a lot smaller than it was a few days ago.

Recalling the vague sound he had heard earlier, Zhang Rongfang had a vague feeling that it must be related to the Blood God.

After thinking for a moment, he added all the remaining twenty attribute points to the Enemy Anticipation.

He has never used this ability since it appeared, but it must be said that it is quite useful.

Even against completely unfamiliar opponents and martial arts, once you've sparred a little and gotten to know them, you can quickly and perfectly control their rhythm.

When used well, it can often be described as a divine skill.

The option to "Enemy Anticipation" did not have any description of its level. Instead, after the twenty attribute points disappeared in the blink of an eye, the option's color changed from light red to white, and a symbol slowly appeared next to it.

'Enemy Anticipation +1'.

Zhang Rongfang was slightly taken aback; adding twenty points to his attributes resulted in such a small change.

He quickly focused his attention on this option, and soon, new information flooded his mind.

At the same skill level, your ability to anticipate and react to Enemy Anticipation will be one second faster than your opponent's.

"Amazing!" Zhang Rongfang was overjoyed.

For an average person, anticipating something a second in advance is nothing, but for someone at his level, a second means being able to strike dozens of times ahead of time.

This makes the difference extremely obvious.

Furthermore, given that his Enemy Anticipation had already undergone special training by Di Jiang, he probably has no idea to what extent he has reached that level.

Standing up straight, Zhang Rongfang carefully sensed the changes in his body. Finding nothing further, he took a deep breath, then leaped off the Human Immortal Platform.

At the bottom of the canyon directly below, countless pure white mists filled the surroundings.

As he leaped out, it was as if he had fallen into a sea of clouds and disappeared into it.

The surrounding mist kept passing by, perhaps for five seconds, perhaps for ten seconds.

Thump! Zhang Rongfang landed suddenly, his legs slamming into the ground, creating two craters the size of bathtubs. He was buried up to his knees.

After pulling his legs out, he only felt a slight numbness in his knees and feet, but otherwise there was no injury.

At this moment, a figure slowly emerged from the mist.

Wearing a grey robe with wide sleeves and a purple crown, he was none other than Xue Tong, who had been living in seclusion here for an unknown period of time.

"Young friend, you are indeed trustworthy." Compared to when we first met, this person is much cleaner than before.

"Senior, have you thought about what you want to do after you get out?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

He always harbored a sense of wariness towards this Xue Tong.

However, he is now far stronger than before. He is also much more confident.

"Are you worried that I'll cause trouble for your master after I leave?" Xue Tong asked with a half-smile.

"I have that idea." Zhang Rongfang nodded without any attempt to hide his agreement.

"Then you don't need to worry. So many years have passed, and all my trusted subordinates in the Great Dao Sect have probably been replaced and disappeared long ago. Even if I go back, what difference will it make? Apart from the rumored appearance of a madman impersonating the Grand Master, nothing will change in the world." Xue Tong seemed to see things very clearly.

He smiled.

"So, I plan to find a place to live in seclusion. I just want to live the life I've always wanted to live but never had the chance to."

Although that's not what I really mean, that's how I have to say it.

He naturally wouldn't tell the other party that in order to leave this place, they had to exchange one for another.

After all, this is not only the seal set up by the Remnant God Wish Woman, but also the self-seal he set up after Divine Descent.

On the other hand, if he wanted to leave, he could have done so long ago. The reason he sought out Zhang Rongfang was for some other purpose.