Sky-Illuminating Mirror

Meng Zhao strode out without looking back, following the stone path along the corridor.

Lü Yue followed behind him, his face clouded with worry.

When the two returned to the Western Residence, Meng Zhao's formerly gentle and proper smile vanished. He said coldly,

"Lü Yue, have someone send Meng Wen a message later. Tell him that Meng Qinghuai has long been secretly associating with the eldest young master, Meng Xi, and may not be loyal to him.

Then deliberately mention how abnormal he was today, how he targeted me—it was all for the eldest young master.

Keep it hidden. Do not expose us."

Lü Yue was somewhat surprised. It was not that the task was difficult, but that it was too easy.

He had thought Meng Zhao would send him to find someone to teach Meng Qinghuai a lesson and vent his resentment. He had not expected it to be merely spreading a rumor, so he hesitated and said,

"Meng Qinghuai has known the second young master for many years, and their bond runs deep. He may not believe such rumors.

If Young Master is truly dissatisfied with that man's conduct tonight, why not let this servant find someone to teach Meng Qinghuai a lesson?"

Meng Zhao did not doubt that Lü Yue had such influence. After all, he was Lü Zhong's adopted son, and now the only close confidant at Meng Zhao's side whom he could use.

Mobilizing the strength under the second branch to teach a collateral descendant a lesson would not be difficult.

It was simply that Meng Zhao disliked trouble. When dealing with an enemy, either do nothing, or do it thoroughly.

Giving the other party a neither-light-nor-heavy lesson would only intensify the conflict. To him, it meant nothing.

It might even bring him trouble in the future. He shook his head and said,

"No. Do as I said. No matter how close the two of them are, and regardless of why Meng Qinghuai opposed me today,

as long as Meng Wen has a reason to doubt him, that is enough."

Having been battered by society time and again in his previous life, Meng Zhao was highly skilled at enduring and knew even better where the line lay.

If he rashly and mindlessly suppressed this man in the open, he might be playing right into certain people's hands.

After all, even when beating a dog, one had to look at its owner. Tonight, Meng Wen had protected Meng Qinghuai quite fiercely, smoothing things over several times.

What he was doing now was planting a thorn between the two of them. Whether it succeeded or not was another matter; when it came to making people sick, he had a real knack for it.

Lü Yue nodded and accepted the order.

Then, as if recalling something, he took out the Jade Prayer Beads from his robes and handed them to Meng Zhao. Smiling, he praised,

"Young Master, with this servant's eye, these prayer beads should be made from Mystic Jade. Their spiritual aura is striking.

Worn over time, they can nourish the body's vital essence and absorb the toxins and impurities expelled from the body. They are extremely precious.

The thread linking the beads is silk spun by an Ice Silkworm. It is incomparably tough—neither blade nor axe can sever it—and it can also keep one's thoughts pure and peaceful.

If Young Master wears it daily, it will greatly benefit your health.

The second young master's gift is no light one."

Meng Zhao had originally felt nothing toward these prayer beads. The only reason he had accepted them was an instinctive craving.

He had feared that some opportunity might vanish into thin air. Yet after hearing Lü Yue's words, he developed some interest in them.

This world was vast and mysterious, magnificent beyond compare, and home to unimaginable powers.

Thus, there were countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Rare Flowers and Herbs, spiritual beasts, and savage beasts.

Classified into the three great grades of heavenly treasures, earthly treasures, and mortal items, Mystic Jade and Ice Silkworm silk did not qualify as earthly treasures, but they could still be considered superior among mortal items.

Taking the Jade Prayer Beads, Meng Zhao's palm trembled slightly. A powerful suction force rose from within his body, draining some kind of energy from the prayer beads entirely. A sense of satisfaction seeped from the depths of his soul.

Yet when he lowered his head and examined the beads closely, they seemed unchanged. Their luster remained, and their spiritual aura had not diminished.

Suspicion arose in Meng Zhao's heart, and his curiosity grew. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Lü Yue first, then carefully investigated the abnormality in his body alone in the courtyard shrouded in orange light.

Meng Zhao sat in meditation on a long bench at the western corner of the courtyard. Gathering his focus and calming his mind, he vaguely sensed an ancient bronze mirror floating in the depths of his mind, blooming with seven-colored radiance.

At the same time, a stream of even more complex information flowed into Meng Zhao's mind.

Only after a long while did Meng Zhao open his eyes, delight shining within them. He rose and paced back and forth through the spacious, secluded courtyard, constantly fingering the Jade Prayer Beads in his hand as he muttered the words "so that's how it is" over and over.

The bronze mirror in Meng Zhao's mind was a treasure called the Sky-Illuminating Mirror. Its grade was unknown, but its power was immense, possessing inconceivable divine abilities.

During a great battle, it had shattered the barrier of space and arrived in the world of Meng Zhao's previous life. Because that was an age of spiritual decline, where spiritual essence had been cut off, it fell dormant and became an item in an antique shop.

Later, through a twist of fate, someone cracked Meng Zhao's head open with the mirror. Once it was stained with his blood, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror recognized him as its master, briefly awakened its spirituality, and exhausted its strength to carry him across worlds into this present world abundant in spiritual essence.

However, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror had already been severely damaged in that great battle. It had then expended its origin to bring Meng Zhao across the boundaries of time and space, leaving it devoid of spirituality and with only a trace of instinct remaining.

Thus, after Meng Zhao transmigrated here, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror had shown no reaction—not because it did not want to, but because it could not.

It was only today, when Meng Wen gave Meng Zhao the Jade Prayer Beads, that the unique energy contained within them stirred the instinct of the Sky-Illuminating Mirror inside Meng Zhao. That prompted him to accept the beads, and allowed him to understand the full course of events.

Now that he had this mirror, Meng Zhao not only had confidence that he could survive under the double pressure of the mysterious person and the Meng Family, but might even be able to pull off a shell company listing—completely solidifying Meng Zhao's identity while escaping the mysterious person's control.

After calming himself, Meng Zhao carefully considered the mirror's functions.

At its peak, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror should have been an all-purpose treasure combining offense, defense, and support, with boundless power.

After all, it involved time and space. It was impressive beyond measure.

Perhaps it could even contend with divine artifacts such as the legendary Kunlun Mirror and Vast-Heaven Mirror.

But now it was severely damaged, and the only function he could use was assisting cultivation. Even so, it was far from ordinary.

According to the information Meng Zhao currently possessed, as long as the Sky-Illuminating Mirror had sufficient energy, he could use it to analyze, deduce, and fuse martial arts.

If he could restore the Sky-Illuminating Mirror in the future, he would surely unlock even more functions.

The only regrettable point was that the energy required to activate the Sky-Illuminating Mirror was exceedingly scarce, rare, and even high-end.

This energy was highly abstract. Meng Zhao understood it as something evolved from a kind of Mental Power.

For instance, the Jade Prayer Beads contained the Buddhist resonance of a great and virtuous monk, imbued with Buddhist nature. Only then had they stirred the instinct of the Sky-Illuminating Mirror and allowed it to successfully absorb energy.

"Sadly, its functions are still too vague. It would be much better if they could be made concrete."

The moment this thought arose in Meng Zhao's mind, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror within his mind instantly stirred, its light flowing and shifting.

New information flooded into Meng Zhao's eyes,

Name: Meng Zhao

Physique: ????

Energy: 1002

Cultivation: Qi Accumulation into Sea (opening a Lake-like Dantian)

Martial Arts:

Arhat Young Monk Skill (Beginner)+

Thirteen Arhat Hand Forms (Beginner)+

Plum Blossom Stance Steps (Beginner)+

Fusion Martial Arts: Status (Closed)

Meng Zhao was overjoyed. The Sky-Illuminating Mirror truly was mysterious and profound; it had actually understood his intent.

What had originally been a very vague function now became much clearer at a glance.

The Fusion Martial Arts function was not yet available, so he would leave that aside for now.

As for the three martial arts he currently knew, his training time had been short, and he had only tasted the surface without gaining much understanding. He had barely entered the beginner stage.

But now, with energy points, he could improve them.

Take the Arhat Young Monk Skill, for example. Though he had received a monk's empowerment and possessed abundant internal energy, his beginner-level understanding of the martial art only allowed him rudimentary control over that internal energy. He was still far from wielding it as easily as his own arm.

But now, he could use the wonders of the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to deepen his understanding of this martial art.

Presumably, so long as he had sufficient energy in the future, he would be no weaker—perhaps even stronger—than all the cultivation prodigies and peerless geniuses throughout the ages.

As for the source of that energy, Meng Zhao had a few ideas. In his view, antiques were likely the easiest objects to carry energy.

Ideally, they should be antiques that had been handled for long periods by people with powerful mental strength.

He remembered that the second branch's treasury should contain some. He could look for them later, and in the future, he could make an effort to collect them along this line.

Moreover, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror itself possessed the ability to sense them. So long as an item containing energy points was nearby, he could detect it, just like the Jade Prayer Beads this time.

What puzzled Meng Zhao even more was the four question marks in the Physique category. What the hell were those?

In this life, he had been born a Beggar. Before the mysterious person took him away, he had nearly starved to death. Could there be some secret hidden in his physique?

This made Meng Zhao's heart itch, his anticipation soaring to the fullest. He could not wait to get to the bottom of it.