A Slip of the Foot, A Stumble of the Horse

Jinling City.

Monster Potion Company.

A round table meeting, a light screen illuminating pairs of eyes filled with vitality in the darkness.

They were discussing something intensely.

Suddenly, Beep beep beep--!

The detector emitted a piercing screech. The supervising Martial Artist slid his chair and quickly leaned over the large electronic screen.

"Is there a monster riot?"

A clear, cold voice asked from the shadows.

Others seated around the table, also in the shadows, turned their heads.

The supervising Martial Artist shook his head. "It's not a monster riot signal. It's a signal from a locator, but it's very weak. One of our company's Martial Artists has been killed."

"Death is inevitable."

The people at the round table didn't pay much attention.

The supervising Martial Artist tapped the screen, and the signal's identity popped up, immediately making him alert. "Boss, it seems the Second Young Lady is in trouble. This is her locator signal."

Whoosh!

Everyone at the round table turned to look at the person in the main seat.

"Trace the last known location of the signal," the person in the main seat said, resting his chin on his hands, his voice grave.

The supervising Martial Artist's fingers flew across the screen, reporting rapidly:

"The last signal appeared within the city, but some energy interfered with the signal's transmission. It shows the entire West District, only a few kilometers from us, almost covering the headquarters building."

"No detailed location?"

"No!"

Bang!

The person in the main seat waved his hand lightly, and the supervising Martial Artist was sent flying, crashing into the wall and twitching uncontrollably.

"Useless trash!" he snorted.

"Investigate. No matter who it is, since he's in Jinling City, he can't escape. He must have family. Investigate all families in the West District, especially those with Martial Artists."

The round table meeting fell into an eerie silence.

Ding!

Just then, In front of the man in the main seat, a panel popped up with an incoming communication. After a moment's hesitation, he clicked to accept, and the image of a woman in a leather outfit was projected.

Seeing her, everyone was stunned. "Ying'er, weren't you attacked?"

"I was indeed attacked," the woman in the leather outfit nodded, a look of relief on her face.

"Fortunately, I had the means my grandfather left me. The attackers were Ghost Face Martial Artists. He doesn't seem to be a local Martial Artist from Jinling City, more like one from another base city. His abilities are extremely strange, able to manipulate matter from a distance, and he caught us completely off guard..."

She recounted the encounter with Lu Xuan in detail.

At the round table, everyone frowned after listening.

Manipulating matter from a distance?

Superpowers?

Even for a Martial Artist, manipulating matter from a distance would be incredibly difficult, right?

Unless they had reached a realm beyond their understanding, like Martial Saints, but would such beings act for mere high-grade spirit herbs?

"No!"

The man in the main seat slammed the table, his eyes like a galaxy discerning everything.

"He's not a powerful Martial Artist, nor is he a Martial Artist from another base city. He's just a rat wearing a Ghost Face, hiding his head and tail!"

"Brother, how could that be?" the woman in the leather outfit asked, confused.

The man tapped his fingers on the table. "Because your locator's last signal came from within Jinling City, which proves the Ghost Face Martial Artist belongs here... Attacking the company? How audacious! Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we will find him!"

"Brother, the Ghost Face Martial Artist destroyed my martial foundation!"

The woman in the leather outfit's voice was filled with indignation. "I want to torture him! I want him to wish he were dead!"

People stumble, horses lose their footing.

In any endeavor, there's always a chance for a lapse in judgment. When you scheme against others, others will scheme against you.

No one is a fool.

Lu Xuan had to admit that he had been blinded by excitement and, in his complacency, had almost made a grave mistake.

No, or rather, the mistake had already been made.

When the woman in the leather suit escaped, he should have foreseen this situation.

It was just his bad luck.

He had to go and rob a young lady of all people.

People with such powerful backgrounds were the hardest to kill. If he encountered someone like that again, he would have to make thorough preparations before acting, ensuring a swift, one-hit kill.

"Ultimately, I still lack experience."

Lu Xuan picked up the Monster Potion Company's storage ring, his expression grim. "Although I used psychic power to interfere and block the signal, with the Monster Potion Company's resources, they would have definitely received the signal immediately."

Even if they couldn't pinpoint his exact location, they could narrow it down to a certain area.

For example, the residential complex.

Or the Western District.

Or even Jinling City.

Regardless, this was definitely not good news for Lu Xuan.

The Monster Potion Company would definitely conduct a thorough search, and it would inevitably lead them to him.

"Damn it," Lu Xuan clenched his fist, confusion clouding his eyes. "Could it be that the future cannot be changed? Even if I wasn't killed by the Xu family, I'll still be hunted by the Potion Company?"

Is it fate's decree, or destiny's design?

"No!"

Lu Xuan crushed a vitality pill, a cunning glint appearing in his eyes.

"There's always a way out!"

"Until I receive the next future email, none of my choices will be wrong. Even if they are, I will still make them!"

He would rather make a mistake than do nothing at all.

What should he do?

Lu Xuan's thoughts raced.

With his improved Mental Power, his mind was sharper than ever.

In just a few minutes, he came up with several solutions.

Registering as a Martial Artist would save his life at a critical moment.

And then there was Xu Xin, the Ming Dao Si Ming.

Most importantly, the Xu family, that colossal presence, like a flood that would engulf Jinling City, should be drowned first.

Lu Xuan stroked his chin. "Yes, I'll spread the news that the Xu family's Martial Dao Grandmaster is nearing death. This will divert the Monster Potion Company's attention, leaving them no time to worry about me. Then, I'll seize the opportunity to register as a Martial Artist and cultivate techniques to increase my strength. No matter what happens to the Xu family in the end, I'll be a completely different person by then."

His mind was clear.

He would do just that.

With his decision made, Lu Xuan's tension eased.

"Learn from your mistakes," he picked up Xu Long and the others' storage rings, locking his psychic power onto them and shielding his surroundings.

The rings flashed with light.

The next second, a large pile of items appeared before him: cash, gold, spirit herbs, pills, cultivation techniques, martial skills...

The dazzling array made Lu Xuan's eyelids twitch.

"Xu Long is truly a direct descendant of the family. This treatment is more than an ordinary person gets in three lifetimes."

Lu Xuan picked up a piece of gold. "So this is 24K pure gold, so smooth. It truly brings joy to the heart, more exciting than a maiden's skin, wonderful!"

He couldn't help but rub it against his face.

But as he rubbed, he felt his cheek brush against something rough and five-fingered, jolting him back to reality.

He looked down.

The gold was gone!

And not just the gold in his hand, but all the other gold on the ground was gone too.

"Huh?" Lu Xuan looked around, stood up, and checked the bedroom. There was no trace. He tapped his head. "Knock, knock, where's my gold?"

Lu Xuan was bewildered.

He had been holding the gold just moments ago, how could it have vanished in the blink of an eye?

He scanned with his psychic power but found no gold. Instead, he sensed movement from the Bronze Gourd beside him.

Puzzled, he reached out and grabbed the Bronze Gourd.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Xuan saw a drop of spiritual liquid appear inside the Bronze Gourd, slightly larger than the one he had swallowed earlier.

"Wait!"

Lu Xuan suddenly came to his senses, his gaze shifting back and forth between the ground and the Bronze Gourd. A bold guess formed in his mind.

He took out a small piece of gold again and placed it at the gourd's opening.

Hummm!

The gold vanished!

"No wonder..." Lu Xuan rubbed the Bronze Gourd, gritting his teeth. "I knocked on your door, and it turns out you were the one swallowing my gold!"

He squeezed with all his might, wishing he could strangle the Bronze Gourd.

The Bronze Gourd swallowing gold, was that even reasonable?

That was gold worth a million, and the broken gourd just gobbled it all up?

Lu Xuan was truly at his wit's end. He pointed at the Bronze Gourd, "You'd better secrete more spiritual liquid, or I'll throw you in the outhouse to eat shit!"

Now, the Bronze Gourd's food source was also clear.

It could be considered a blessing in disguise.

After venting his frustration for a moment, Lu Xuan began to consider how to handle his gains.

"Cultivation techniques and martial skills definitely can't be practiced."

These signature cultivation techniques and martial skills, once discovered, would expose his identity.

So, he could only exchange them for money, then exchange that money for resources suitable for his own cultivation. The most important thing was to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

His parents' treatment needed to be gradual.

His sister's cultivation couldn't be delayed.

His own strength also needed to be improved quickly to prevent his Ghost Face Martial Artist identity from being exposed.

"It's time to register as a Martial Artist and advance my cultivation technique."