Huff... inhale...
Inside the increasingly dilapidated temple, a faint breeze rustled from time to time.
If one listened carefully, one could even sense a trace of warmth amid the chilly winter wind.
"Once the New Year passes, I'll be eighteen in this life."
At that moment.
Beneath the half-collapsed statue.
Chen Guan stood up, his body clad in the Hundred Beast Garment and towering over two meters tall.
His face was a little round, but his features were broad and well-defined.
Tap, tap—
He stepped out of the dilapidated temple.
Clear sunlight streamed down.
Chen Guan's hair was now far thicker than an ordinary person's, and his ears sat higher on his head, too.
Combined with his features and the Hundred Beast Garment, he gave off a rugged, savage air.
"I've waited ten years and cultivated for ten years, but I still haven't found my younger sister. I couldn't find her anywhere in the nearby mountains, either..."
Seeing that there was still no news, Chen Guan decided to leave today.
He would see if he could settle some of the grudges from his past lives first, like the one with Bandit Brother.
After all, only "three years" remained before his cheap grandson came looking for revenge.
He had to find Bandit Brother quickly and settle this karmic debt, lest his grandson's Dao heart suffer if he couldn't find him.
And after finding Bandit Brother, he could also wait for his grandson.
He would first bring one of the karmic debts mentioned in the afterword to a perfect close.
He wanted to see whether anything else would change, or whether he would get an extra reward, besides the effect that "shortened the reincarnation interval."
Chen Guan was looking forward to it.
Besides, he now had the means to protect himself, so he could return to town and look for some other manuals.
He had already mastered Constable Yan's blade manual.
After another ten years of hard practice.
His Basic Blade Technique proficiency had risen to [451/1000].
Bear-Type Strength [751/1000].
At present, excluding the spiritual energy from ten years of cultivation, his strength was around nineteen hundred jin.
Bear-Type Strength contributed around seventeen hundred and fifty jin.
But with the boost from ten years of spiritual energy.
His strength of nineteen hundred jin could rise to around four thousand!
With his current spiritual energy, his strength was boosted by about twofold.
His powerful body could currently bear "twice the boost" from his spiritual energy.
As for [Refining Essence into Qi], it involved gradually gathering spiritual energy. First, one filled the lower dantian in an orderly fashion; only then would one reach the second minor stage and open the middle dantian.
In the early stages, one needed to comprehend the "sense of qi" and "initial entry into Refining Essence into Qi," which required insight and a calm state of mind.
Opening the other dantians, however, was a gradual process that came naturally with practice.
According to the martial artist rankings in the manual, though, his strength of four thousand jin alone already made him an expert at the "Post-Heaven Minor Accomplishment" level, comparable to an expert who had filled their lower dantian.
In a small place like Little Liuzi Town, there were fewer than five people like that.
In truth, however, he had only filled three-tenths of his lower dantian.
The rest of his strength came from his "bear-like constitution," which forcibly raised his baseline.
Chen Guan pondered for a moment, then looked southeast and prepared to practice as he traveled.
"I haven't been home in ten years. I wonder how my wet nurse, Auntie Hua, is doing...
"She should be forty once the New Year passes..."
He had suddenly felt the urge to go home today.
As Chen Guan left the area around the dilapidated temple and headed southeast, he felt a little apprehensive about returning home.
His upbringing had been hard to describe, but, all things said and done, that was still his home in this world.
He felt some attachment to it.
Ten years had rushed by just like that.
How were they doing now?
As Chen Guan thought about it, an emotion called "parting sorrow" suddenly welled up inside him.
"Cutting it off does not sever it; sorting it out only tangles it further. This is parting sorrow, a feeling unlike any other, lingering in my heart..."
Chen Guan suddenly recalled that poem. He hadn't expected to remember it even after all these lives.
Nine years of schooling had left an indelible mark on him.
Two hours later.
Chen Guan was striding through the forest.
To the southeast.
Little Liuzi Town.
At the Zhao Family estate, whose plaque above the front gate had grown rather old.
The rear courtyard.
A woman with a slightly hunched back was carrying two baskets of greens to the kitchen.
She was Chen Guan's former wet nurse, Auntie Hua.
She was no longer young.
The long years of work as a wet nurse had worn her down, body and spirit.
The wrinkles on her face were pronounced, and she stooped as she walked, making her look to be in her fifties.
At the same time.
As Auntie Hua was taking the vegetables to the kitchen.
Patriarch Zhao, his temples already tinged with white, happened to come out of the kitchen and see her.
"Little Hua."
When Patriarch Zhao saw her, a smile appeared on his face.
He no longer carried the authority he had once commanded in the estate. Instead, he seemed gentler and more composed.
"You can leave the shopping and delivery to the servants."
"Yes... Master..."
When Auntie Hua smiled, the dimple on her left cheek was hidden by the wrinkles of age.
She no longer had milk, nor the energy to care for the master's grandchildren.
Fortunately, Patriarch Zhao and several of the young masters still remembered her kindness and let her stay with the Zhao Family, where she helped out with small tasks from time to time.
It was more or less the same as "retirement."
But Auntie Hua felt she was still able to work and didn't want to eat without earning her keep, so she kept doing whatever she could.
Besides.
No one in the estate mentioned the "Fifth Young Master" anymore.
Or rather, nine and a half years ago, after Patriarch Zhao had spent some money searching for him without success, he gave up.
There was no need to spend any more money or manpower.
Besides, he had been gone for ten years.
Everyone in the Zhao Family felt that the Fifth Young Master had either been abducted or died somewhere else.
By now, only Auntie Hua and Patriarch Zhao still thought of him now and then.
Auntie Hua thought the Fifth Young Master was pitiful and felt sorry for him.
Patriarch Zhao was weary of the trouble and the lack of returns, but felt a little guilt and helplessness, as a father should.
"That little brat..."
That same morning.
After leaving the kitchen, Patriarch Zhao passed by the small courtyard where Chen Guan had once lived.
Although he didn't stop for a few moments as he had a few years ago, he couldn't help remembering his fifth son, whose appearance had been so strange.
"Father..."
"Grandfather!"
Just then, the Second Young Master approached with his grandson to discuss sending the boy to a private school.
As the Second Young Master and his son passed the courtyard, neither of them felt much of anything.
But the Second Young Master was a shrewd man. He put on a wistful expression and said:
"Are you thinking of Fifth Brother again?"
"I've already spoken with Mr. Li. He'll start school tomorrow." Patriarch Zhao didn't take the bait. After discussing the private school, he left.
"Father..." The Second Young Master's son saw that his grandfather was clearly unhappy and curiously asked his father, "What's wrong with Grandfather?"
"Oh." The Second Young Master casually pointed at the house. "This is where your Fifth Uncle lived. Your grandfather is thinking of him again.
"Sure enough, the child in the family who disobeys the most and makes the most trouble is the one the family remembers best.
"At least, that's how it is for your grandfather."
"Fifth Uncle?" The child didn't understand, but asked curiously, "Who's Fifth Uncle?"
"He's..." The Second Young Master had meant to explain, but his memories of Chen Guan had grown hazy. In the end, he could only say,
"A strange fellow who never came out of his room.
"Your father has even forgotten what your Fifth Uncle looked like. I only remember that his ears were rather big..."
"Congratulations to my seventh nephew on starting school tomorrow!"
"Come, let's drink!"
"Seventh Nephew, make sure you study hard under your teacher..."
Night fell.
The Zhao Family was still filled with laughter. The family gathered for dinner, and everything seemed as usual.
But at the main table, there was a small, inconspicuous empty seat.
It was between the Fourth Young Master and the Sixth Young Master.
By age, a man came of age at sixteen in this dynasty.
Chen Guan was already an adult, so he could sit at the main table.
The Zhao Family also valued the little etiquette and upbringing they had, as well as their bloodline.
So regardless of whether Chen Guan was dead or alive, and regardless of how many family members still cared about him,
As a member of the Zhao Family, he was to have a seat saved for him.
They would keep doing so until Patriarch Zhao stepped down or the other young masters started families.
Then there would be no need for this custom.
But as long as Patriarch Zhao was there, the rules were the rules.
And while the Zhao Family gathered in celebration.
Several men of various ages were passing by the outskirts of Zhao Mansion.
They looked like ordinary passersby, but their eyes kept drifting toward the Zhao estate.
For the past half month, they had circled the Zhao Family's grounds several times at different hours.
From time to time, they listened at the wall, pressing a simple listening tube against it.
Or, late at night, they would cautiously climb into the courtyard, hoping to make out what was being said inside.
After finishing their rounds and listening for the day.
They returned to a cluster of houses in the northern part of town and released a pigeon, which flew out of town.
When night had grown darker still.
In a patch of woods outside town.
More than a dozen bandits were sharpening their blades, gazing ahead.
"Coo-coo!"
With the pigeon's call, the bird that had flown out of town landed on the hand of a burly bandit.
"Our brothers in town have sent another message."
The pigeon flew in every day, bringing news about the Zhao Family in town.
Now, as the bandit opened the letter, he glanced over its contents.
"It's the same as the news from the past few days.
"Next month, around the middle of the month, the Zhao Family will be sending out a shipment of goods. They'll also be bringing back a large payment."
The bandit recounted the message in the letter. When he finished, he looked at several men to his left.
"Over the next few days, go scout out that county."
After giving those men their orders, the bandit looked at the others. "The rest of you, come with me. We'll scout the route and find a good place to strike."
"Yes, big brother!"
"Don't worry!"
The others replied excitedly, their faces beaming. It was as if they could already see the Zhao Family's gleaming silver.
But the next second—
Thud!
The sound of a head striking stone suddenly rang out.
Before anyone could react, blood and brain matter burst into view. One of their brothers had lost most of his head.
"Wha..."
"You..."
They were stunned.
But in the blink of an eye, a burly man emerged from the woods ahead!
He wore the Hundred Beast Garment and had an extremely strange appearance. Lit by the fire before them, he looked like a demon from the forest.
He was also carrying one of their companions.
On his way back, Chen Guan had encountered this bandit, who was out robbing people, and learned that a group of bandits was operating nearby.
Their target was his family's merchant caravan.
So he might as well take care of them while he was at it.
"It's a monster!"
"Run!"
"Kill him!"
The instant they saw Chen Guan's appearance, they took him for a demon. Most of them were ready to turn tail and run.
Only a few thought he might be a wild man, or perhaps another bandit looking to scavenge.
But before they could think it through—or even take a step to flee—
As Chen Guan emerged, a stone nearly half the size of a head came flying with him.
Thud!
Another heavy impact. A bandit's chest caved in, and he died on the spot.
The next moment—
Following the stone he had thrown, Chen Guan surged forward with immense strength in his fists and feet. Swinging the corpse in his hand, he charged into them like a猛虎 among sheep, striking with fists, feet, and the body in his grip.
With broad, sweeping movements, he broke bones and dislocated limbs. In just a few seconds, several more men were left mangled, accompanied by the crunch of snapping bones.
The corpse in his hand was battered to pieces as well.
Whoosh—
Now that he had no weapon in hand,
he smashed one man's neck with a single punch.
Chen Guan followed with a downward strike, dodged the sharp cleaver in the man's hand, then took several quick steps and cut down three men fleeing ahead.
Chen Guan killed the runners first. They had no thought of fighting back, so he dispatched them cleanly and swiftly.
"He's not a monster! He's a martial arts expert!"
"Surround him and kill him!"
Only then did the bandits come to their senses and realize Chen Guan was human.
But after their initial terror had left them too frightened to fight back, only six of them remained.
Still, they were all skilled fighters in the martial world. They made their living killing people, so their martial arts were naturally strong, and they had plenty of tricks up their sleeves.
At that moment, as the bandits faced off against Chen Guan,
one of them circled around behind him and farther off, preparing to run a few steps before lunging in for a sneak attack.
Crack—
After Chen Guan killed another bandit, he heard footsteps and suddenly turned around. The fingers of his hand without a blade formed a strange seal.
In an instant, the seal stirred the spiritual energy around him and within his body.
The men saw Chen Guan point strangely at the would-be attacker. Then fierce flames suddenly erupted across the man's body!
"This..."
"He, he, he..."
Seeing this, the bandit chief and the others stopped in their tracks, abandoning their attack.
For a moment, silence fell over the place.
All that could be heard were the screams of the man burning alive.
After standing frozen for a few seconds, the bandit chief and the others tremblingly tossed aside their cleavers and knelt rigidly on the ground.
"Mercy, revered cultivator!"
"Senior! Senior! Spare me..."
"Immortal grandpa, please..."
The men knelt and begged for mercy.
But when one of the bandits saw the cultivator approach with a blade in hand, seemingly intent on sparing none of them, he realized they were doomed. He mustered his courage and challenged him:
"Senior! We... we admit... we admit we never offended you... How can you... how can you humiliate your juniors like this? Is this... is this how a great expert behaves?"
The bandit now grasped at words, hoping the revered cultivator might spare them out of concern for his status.
Chen Guan looked at them weeping and wailing, then glanced at the message carried by the pigeon. At last, he gazed toward the southeast.
"Come with me. We're going to root out the people in your town, too.
"Because the Zhao Family and I
have quite a history."
Before you continue