As Luo Bin walked downstairs, he pondered. The ways to obtain Modification Points and Spirit Charm were now crystal clear.
In this turbulent age, where martial arts and Demon Ghosts ran rampant side by side, guns and explosives were highly effective against people. But against Demon Specters and Strange Specters, these modern weapons did very little.
That was the rule he had worked out from his first fight against a ghost today.
A Strange Specter roughly equivalent to a Martial Master in the late Golden Skin Pass was already this troublesome—and it even had an innate ability. A powerful sense of crisis welled up in Luo Bin.
He still wasn't strong enough!
Otherwise, how could he have been tangled up with that female ghost for so long?
There was also the Flood Dragon in Pengze Lake that Zhang Huai had mentioned, along with the Demon Specters outside the city. He needed to find a chance to kill a few more Demon Ghosts...
First, he would stockpile his Modification Points. As for Spirit Charm...that depended on how much the Chen Family was willing to wager on him to get their hands on that former dynasty's "Eight Great Miraculous Arts."
Luo Bin was now filled with ambition...cultivation depended entirely on painstaking effort.
Maybe I can work with Hall Master Luo in the future and hunt Demon Ghosts together for Modification Points...
Luo Bin had no intention of using the seven Modification Points he had gained from killing the red-qipao female ghost. Besides, no plus signs had appeared beside Primordial Stance or White Ape Through-Arm Fist to indicate that Modification Points could be used on them.
Most likely, he didn't have enough points. For now, though, these two martial arts were still sufficient... In truth, White Ape Through-Arm Fist could no longer even be called a cultivation method...
It was more accurately a viciously offensive martial art.
Luo Bin came back to himself and looked down the stairs. Men with blond hair and blue eyes, opera singers, merchants and politicians—even Chen Jing and the others—were all watching him.
The crystal chandelier's light fell upon Luo Bin, outlining every taut line of muscle across his body with striking clarity.
A woman in a woolen coat and a silk felt hat lowered her voice and exclaimed, "What a powerful body! What a handsome figure! Good heavens!"
"So this is the young man the Chen Family hired? He's only just entered the Golden Skin Pass, yet he can already fight a Strange Entity close to the Jade Bone Pass?"
Everyone present was a prominent figure or wealthy foreign merchant. Most had at least some understanding of martial arts, and they couldn't help marveling at how young Luo Bin looked.
Chen Jing immediately went over to him. After Luo Bin's astonishing performance—and since Luo Bin was a little older—Chen Jing changed how he addressed him. "Brother Luo, you're not hurt, are you? Did you take care of things upstairs?"
Luo Bin smiled faintly. A little surprised by Chen Jing's change in attitude, he said, "I'm fine. That thing's been dealt with..."
The murmurs among the crowd grew louder and louder.
Ever since the Great Li dynasty had collapsed and Westerners had taken control of the nation's gateways, Demon Ghosts and evil specters had taken advantage of the turmoil, crawling out of remote mountains, rivers, lakes and seas to wreak havoc on the world.
The Great New News reported almost every month on some city or county plagued by Strange Specters, which slaughtered entire villages and towns, or on some warlord whose ammunition depot had been overturned by Demon Specters from the mountains...
Ordinary people feared Demon Ghosts to their very bones. Even powerful lineages and wealthy families had to spend heavily on Martial Masters to keep their homes safe.
Yet this young man looked barely sixteen or seventeen, and he had fought a Strange Entity nearing the Jade Bone Pass all by himself...
Luo Bin showed not the slightest arrogance. After talking with Chen Jing for a few moments, he noticed the bloody scene outside when people pointed it out to him: more than a dozen people lay in pools of blood.
Chen Tianren, who had never met Luo Bin, approached the entrance of the Moon Veil Nightclub from afar, with Luo Wendi following behind him. As soon as they stepped inside, smiles tugged at the corners of their mouths.
"Everyone, the Chen Family was in the wrong today. We should have closed for the night, but instead this great calamity occurred. Chen Jing, why haven't you taken your people and escorted our guests away from Bincha Street?"
Chen Tianren apologized to everyone in the hall. Chen Jing hurried to his feet and organized the men he had brought to guide the crowd outside. The people in the Moon Veil Nightclub immediately began streaming out.
This place was like a living hell. It was one thing to watch the excitement, but if you got caught up in the fighting, your smiling face would soon turn into a frown.
Hu Junzhi leaned close to Chen Tianren's ear and gave him a full account of the situation before stepping aside.
Chen Tianren walked over to Luo Bin, took off his own coat and draped it over the young man's shoulders. "Well done, lad. You entered the Golden Skin Pass in a single night and killed a Strange Specter close to the Jade Bone Pass... You've turned out far better than that kid Chen Jing."
In a corner, Old Zhou, a reporter for the Ping City Evening News, scribbled furiously in his notebook with a fountain pen. The pen point was nearly tearing through the paper.
His eyes shone as he muttered to himself, "Front page! An absolute front-page story! 'Young Man Smashes Strange Specter Barehanded; Chen Family Treats Him Like a Son'!
"No, it needs more punch! 'Breaks Through Golden Skin Pass Overnight, Fists Shake Moon Veil Pavilion—Luo Bin Emerges as Ping City's New Martial Arts Champion!'"
As head of the Chen Family, Chen Tianren naturally put the family's survival first in everything. Luo Bin was the ideal heir to the miraculous art, "Yellow Court Inner Landscape." His importance to the Chen Family went without saying.
Luo Bin turned slightly aside. He showed neither the awkwardness of someone overwhelmed by an honor nor the arrogance of someone boasting of his achievements. He simply gave a small nod.
"You flatter me, Patriarch. The Second Young Master trusted me, so I protected him. It was only my duty."
Luo Wendi's admiration for him deepened.
A few days ago, at the docks, the boy had turned on his allies in the midst of battle and stabbed Meng Jiu to death with a single thrust. That had shown ruthless resolve.
Today, facing a Strange Specter, he had fearlessly stepped in to fight it alone. That had shown courage and a sense of responsibility.
And now, faced with the Chen Family Patriarch's praise, he remained neither proud nor restless, and even gave the credit to Chen Jing. What kind of lowly household guard of sixteen or seventeen had such a disposition?
No wonder Elder Jiang had said the boy had Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone. Even his temperament was one in a million.
Chen Tianren laughed heartily and patted Luo Bin on the shoulder, his palm steady and weighty.
"Well said! It's Chen Jing's good fortune that he made a friend like you and brought you into the Chen Family.
"Starting today, Qinghui Courtyard, beside Qufang Garden in the family residence, is yours. The family's medicinal herbs, martial armory and money—whatever you need for cultivation, just ask."
His words crashed through the hall like thunder, making the prominent figures and wealthy merchants who had yet to leave draw in sharp breaths.
What kind of family was the Chen Family?
They were one of Ping City's top lineages. Even with Old Master Chen Shuo gone, a瘦死的骆驼比马大; they were still no easy target in Ping City.
And now they were giving a newly recruited household guard the same treatment as their own children?
In a corner, Su Yunong and Hong Ling exchanged a glance. After years of making their way in Ping City, they knew better than anyone how to read a room. Chen Tianren wasn't merely taking on a subordinate.
He was clearly treating the young man like an adopted son...
After being intimidated by the heavy machine guns outside, Sun Jingyao's original plan to catch them like turtles in a jar had fallen apart. He hurried over to make amends, a respectful smile on his face, and stopped before Chen Tianren to bow deeply.
"Uncle Chen, what happened today was all because I was deceived by that scoundrel Ran Shaohua. I was confused for a moment and did such a foolish thing. I hope you'll forgive me."
He knew the score. Chen Tianren had brought heavy machine guns into the street and slaughtered the White Moon Hall's turncoats today as a warning to the others.
Luo Wendi was alive, and Ran Shaohua's scheme had failed. If the Sun Family continued to fight them, he would be the next one riddled with bullets.
Chen Tianren glanced at him coolly, his expression unreadable.
"贤侄 Sun, go back and tell your father that even with the old master gone, the Chen Family isn't some stray cat or dog that anyone can take a bite out of."
"Yes, yes. I'll remember, Uncle Chen. Thank you for your magnanimity!"
Sun Jingyao, as if pardoned from a death sentence, didn't even dare lift his head. He fled in disgrace with his people.
Watching Sun Jingyao's retreating figure, Chen Tianren turned to Luo Wendi. "Wendi, I'll leave the rest of the cleanup to you. Put Moon Veil back in order and remove whoever needs removing. Also, the Black Sheath Hall will leave the Green Bamboo Gang starting tomorrow."
Before you continue