I'm a Genius, Right?

Lu Yuan chuckled. "What if I win?"

"Win against me?"

Zhang Zhi's eyes widened. "Hmph! If you can last twenty moves against me, I'll admit you're formidable!"

He had trained in martial arts for over twenty years. Whether in strength or experience, he surpassed Lu Yuan. If he let Lu Yuan endure twenty moves, he would concede wholeheartedly.

"Fine! It's a deal!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Zhi stamped down, leaving a deep footprint as he shot forward like a tiger or leopard. His wooden saber streaked through the air in a gleaming ribbon, its afterimages slashing toward Lu Yuan.

Just as he had said, Zhang Zhi had undergone the Second Blood Change years ago. Over more than twenty years of martial training, he had weathered countless deadly battles. His experience was immensely rich, and after several trials of life and death, his combat experience was far beyond Lu Yuan's.

Though he had said twenty moves, what he truly thought was that it would be enough if Lu Yuan could withstand ten moves under his full-force assault.

"Uncle Zhang, you're launching a sneak attack!"

Zhang Zhi's ferocious offensive startled Lu Yuan, and he barely managed to parry the blow.

"When you're fighting for your life, no enemy will warn you before making a move!"

As Zhang Zhi spoke, his saber-light did not cease. Every strike was swift and fierce, aimed straight at vital points.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the blink of an eye, their wooden sabers had collided several times. After adapting to the rhythm, Lu Yuan's saber suddenly sprang forth like a ferocious tiger that had lain in ambush for ages, slashing toward Zhang Zhi's waist from an exceedingly tricky and vicious angle.

Zhang Zhi's gaze sharpened. His saber moved like dragons and serpents, shielding his body as shock filled his heart.

"Good lad, your Great Gale Saber Technique..."

"Hahaha, Uncle Zhang, you're seeing me in a new light now, aren't you?"

Lu Yuan laughed loudly. His strikes were sharp and swift, like raging waves and a torrential storm, charging onward without hesitation. One move followed another in an unbroken stream, each blow heavy and powerful, actually leaving Zhang Zhi with a sense of being unable to catch his breath.

Zhang Zhi was doing far more than seeing him in a new light. He simply could not believe it.

The sharpness and ruthlessness of Lu Yuan's saber techniques were nothing like those of someone who had trained with the saber for only three months. Zhang Zhi was being forced into a flurry of panic.

It was truly beyond comprehension.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Twenty moves soon passed. Saber-light flew in all directions, and Lu Yuan's saber momentum was ghostlike, always bursting forth with killing intent from all sorts of tricky angles, impossible to guard against. The moment Zhang Zhi revealed even the slightest flaw, Lu Yuan would follow it in and press forward step by step.

"Enough! I concede!"

Seeing that they were heading toward thirty moves, Zhang Zhi no longer had the face to continue. He shouted his surrender, then looked down at the wooden saber in his hand, now covered in chips and notches. Raising his head to look at Lu Yuan, his eyes were brimming with shock. "Your mastery of the Great Gale Saber Technique has already surpassed mine! You... just how did you train?"

He was both shocked and delighted.

Lu Yuan shrugged. "I just kept training and training, and it turned out like this. Can't be helped—you said I'm a genius."

Zhang Zhi said, "..."

Was that even something a human being would say?

I've practiced the Great Gale Saber Technique for twenty years, and you surpassed me after three months?

He truly wanted to beat him up.

But as he eyed Lu Yuan's face, he suddenly sighed in dejection. It would probably be difficult to beat him up in the future too.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Zhi said, "Don't spar with the family guards anymore. If you want to spar, find me or Lu Cheng. Don't seek out anyone else, and don't rashly expose your strength."

Lu Yuan was slightly moved. "Uncle Zhang, I understand."

Zhang Zhi was entirely thinking for his sake. When a tree stands out in the forest, the wind is sure to destroy it. The Lu Family was merely an ordinary medicinal merchant family in Lingbao County, without any powerful backing. He should not reveal excessively outstanding martial talent too early.

Keep his head down and develop. Don't get reckless.

There would be plenty of time to get reckless once he was strong enough.

Zhang Zhi changed the subject. "I used seventy percent of my strength just now. The two of us fought thirty moves without a victor. An ordinary Martial Artist who has only just undergone the Second Blood Change might not necessarily be your match."

After all, he had undergone his Second Blood Change eight years ago. He had made considerable progress over those eight years, and coupled with his abundant combat experience, an ordinary Martial Artist who had only just undergone the Second Blood Change could not last twenty or thirty moves against him.

"Uncle Zhang, you flatter me."

Lu Yuan smiled.

During their spar just now, he could sense that Zhang Zhi had been holding back.

In strength, speed, combat experience, and every other aspect, Zhang Zhi surpassed him.

Only his attainments in the Great Gale Saber Technique were inferior to Lu Yuan's.

"Oh, right. I found out about the matter you asked me to inquire about some time ago." Zhang Zhi suddenly remembered something. "I don't know why you wanted me to ask around about a Health Preservation and Longevity Cultivation Method. You're so young, yet you're already thinking about preserving your health?"

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. "Where is it?"

"The Brilliant Merchant Guild, Taikang Prefecture's largest merchant guild, will hold its annual auction in Zhenping County. Divine weapons, sharp tools, Medicinal Materials, cultivation methods... they'll have everything. I got hold of the cultivation method auction list through a friend, and one of the methods on it is a Health Preservation and Longevity Cultivation Method."

"You can try your luck at the auction, but influential people and experts will gather there. To be honest, the Lu Family's wealth does not amount to much in that place."

Lu Yuan hurriedly asked, "Uncle Zhang, what is that cultivation method called?"

"It's called... the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art. Well, its name already has the words 'longevity' in it. Isn't that obviously a Health Preservation and Longevity Cultivation Method?"

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

After Zhang Zhi left, Lu Yuan fell into thought. "I wonder how much money it will take to obtain that cultivation method. Looks like I'll have to live off my father."

Martial arts manuals had always been precious things. From what he knew, even an utterly ordinary martial art was worth several hundred taels of silver.

When he mentioned the matter to Lu Longjing, he had not hesitated in the slightest. Without another word, he gave Lu Yuan ten gold bars, each worth a thousand taels of silver.

He had originally wanted Zhang Zhi to accompany Lu Yuan to Zhenping County, but considering that Zhang Zhi needed to remain behind and guard the Lu Family, Lu Yuan declined.

Early the next morning, after greeting his father and brother, Lu Yuan slipped out through the back gate. After turning left and right and confirming that no one was following him, he headed straight out of the city. He mounted the horse his father had prepared for him and galloped wildly toward Zhenping County.

Carrying gold bars worth ten thousand taels, Lu Yuan remained cautious upon cautious and low-key upon low-key throughout the journey. He arrived safely in Zhenping County without incident.