Even though Chen Heqing was anxious to the core,
he still didn't dare defy Lu Jing'an at that moment.
After the meal,
Lu Jing'an personally escorted the two hall masters out.
His manners were impeccable, giving them every courtesy.
Even after receiving his reward, Situ Yiyun didn't forget to show off to Chen Heqing.
Chen Heqing gritted his teeth in secret once more.
After the two men left, the courtyard fell quiet again.
Chen Xuan didn't ask Lu Jing'an why he had specifically told Chen Heqing to come back the next day.
The two master and disciple naturally shared that much understanding.
Not bringing it up reminded Lu Jing'an of something else.
"Some of what Situ Yiyun said today did make sense."
Chen Xuan's voice was calm and unhurried.
"But you needn't take it too much to heart.
The path of New Martial Arts may seem novel, but it has many limitations.
There are indeed foreigners who follow the path of New Martial Arts to transcendence.
But in the end, their methods don't suit our foundations."
Lu Jing'an's expression shifted slightly.
He poured Chen Xuan another cup of hot tea and asked,
"Master, can the path of New Martial Arts truly lead to the realm of a Martial Cultivator?"
Chen Xuan nodded and accepted the teacup.
"There is indeed such a path, though it's completely different from the one we Martial Cultivators follow."
Lu Jing'an couldn't help leaning forward, asking curiously,
"Master, what are the foreigners' Martial Cultivators like?"
Seeing that Lu Jing'an was interested, Chen Xuan explained a little more.
"The greatest difference between the foreigners' so-called Martial Cultivation
and ours
lies in the source of their 'qi.'
We cultivate inner qi and true qi.
They arise from the stimulation of our own blood and qi and are nurtured in the dantian.
They flow from within to without, renewing themselves without end.
But the foreigners cultivate something called 'Battle Qi.'"
"Battle Qi?"
Lu Jing'an was stunned.
He almost thought he'd heard wrong.
For some reason, the iconic image of Battle Qi transforming into a horse flashed through his mind.
Chen Xuan didn't notice Lu Jing'an's momentary distraction and continued explaining.
"It's said that Battle Qi
depends on a particular secret method to produce.
More importantly, it's spurred by extreme emotions.
The more intense and exalted the emotion, the stronger the Battle Qi.
Conversely, if one's state of mind is shattered,
one's momentum collapses and the Battle Qi dissipates, losing nine-tenths of its power.
That is precisely why New Martial Arts places such great emphasis on practical combat techniques and striking first.
If you can't seize the upper hand in one burst,
then the Battle Qi you summon will be weak."
Lu Jing'an listened with great interest, pondering this unusual system of cultivation, when
the faint sound of footsteps came from outside.
Lanhua, his personal maid, entered the hall softly and reported in a low voice,
"Young master, the things sent over by Second Master's people have arrived."
Seeing that Lu Jing'an had business to attend to, Chen Xuan rose and took his leave.
Lu Jing'an saw his master to the courtyard gate.
When he turned back,
he saw a heavy wooden box, about a foot and a half long, resting on the rosewood desk in the study.
The sandalwood box gleamed darkly, its lid secured with a brass clasp.
Lanhua handed him the key, and Lu Jing'an opened it himself.
As the lid lifted, a dazzling golden light spilled out.
It brightened one corner of the study.
Inside the box,
gold bars, each about the length of a palm
and two fingers wide,
were stacked in neat rows.
Every gold bar
bore the clear stamp of the Lu Family Silver Bank.
Lu Jing'an reached out and brushed his fingertips over the metal's cold, hard surface.
Even after living two lifetimes, this was the first time he'd seen it with his own eyes.
With so much real gold and silver piled before him, he instinctively rubbed his fingers together.
"One, two, three... forty bars?" Lu Jing'an finished counting and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Second Uncle was thoughtful. He was afraid I wouldn't have enough to spend, so he prepared ten extra bars."
He closed the wooden box,
then carried the phonograph over to the desk.
He silently focused, and the prompt appeared before him once more:
[An object suitable for Refining/repair has been detected. Please choose.]
This time, Lu Jing'an chose [Repair].
[The incomplete Treasure Tool, Phonograph, requires 35 gold bars and 1 Energy Point to repair. Begin repair now?]
"Thirty-five bars?"
Five more than he'd estimated; Lu Jing'an was a little surprised.
Fortunately, Second Uncle had given him ten extra, so he had plenty.
Once he'd made up his mind, he confirmed [Repair].
As soon as his choice was set,
the phonograph and thirty-five gold bars on the desk were instantly shrouded in an invisible radiance, then vanished.
[Repair begun. Time required: 1 hour...]
Looking at the illusory words before him, Lu Jing'an murmured,
"I hope you'll give me a surprise in an hour."
Those thirty-five Big Yellow Fish were worth fourteen thousand silver dollars.
That was enough to buy more than a dozen decent courtyard houses in Shangjing.
An hour passed quickly, and Lu Jing'an saw the prompt:
[Repair complete!]
Lu Jing'an's spirits lifted, and he immediately brought out the phonograph.
The phonograph was now completely renewed,
its overall structure seemingly more compact and fluid.
The horn, originally made of brass, now gleamed with golden light.
He examined the inside closely.
All the key metal components, including the gears and springs,
had turned gold as well.
The five extra gold bars must have gone toward that.
After making sure everything was in order,
Lu Jing'an could hardly wait to test the Treasure Tool.
According to Wen Ling, all he needed to do was
write the name of the person he wanted to listen in on onto a record.
If that person was within thirty meters of the phonograph,
their voice could be heard regardless of where they were.
After a brief pause, Lu Jing'an wrote down Lanhua's name.
Lu Jing'an wasn't indulging in any odd hobby.
It was just that Lanhua was probably the only person within thirty meters at the moment.
He set the record in place
and slowly turned the handle on the side of the phonograph.
The mechanism made a faint, smooth clicking sound.
The Golden Horn trembled slightly.
Then Lanhua's lively voice came through clearly:
"You didn't see how amazing the young master was today.
He knocked Situ Yiyun of Zhengxin Martial Hall back with just one punch!"
After that, the horn fell quiet for a moment.
Only the record's soft hiss remained.
A moment later, Lanhua's voice sounded again.
Her tone was noticeably higher, tinged with urgency and fierce protectiveness.
"So what if Situ Yiyun went easy on the young master?
The young master hasn't been training in martial arts for long!
And Situ Yiyun admitted it himself—he's no match for the young master!
Once the young master reaches Situ Yiyun's age,
ten Situ Yiyuns—no, a hundred Situ Yiyuns—wouldn't be a match for him!"
There was another brief silence.
Then Lanhua's voice grew even more impassioned, taking on a hint of a young girl's stubbornness.
"So what if I like the young master?
He's handsome, and he's amazing. Don't you like him?"
Silence fell again. A moment later, the voice resumed.
"If... if the young master would take me, I'd be his bedchamber maid!"
Hearing this,
Lu Jing'an couldn't help the smile that curved his lips.
He hadn't expected Lanhua, usually so meek and gentle,
to be so uninhibited when chatting privately with her friends.
Still, this little girl's heart was firmly on his side.
Lu Jing'an released the handle, and the record stopped turning. The voice cut off abruptly.
Although he had successfully tested the phonograph, the results were somewhat disappointing.
The phonograph's shortcomings were glaringly obvious:
First, its listening range was limited. To listen in, he had to get close.
But the phonograph was a little too large and conspicuous.
Second, it could only pick up the voice of the person whose name he'd written down.
Without knowing the other person's name, he couldn't tell who they were speaking with or what they were saying.
"It seems I made things out to be too simple before."
Lu Jing'an gently stroked the cold Golden Horn, his brow furrowing.
Just then, his palm touched the phonograph again.
That familiar prompt appeared once more:
[An object suitable for Refining/repair has been detected. Please choose.]
Lu Jing'an's gaze sharpened, and a thought flashed through his mind.
Perhaps he could take one more gamble.
[Refining]
Lu Jing'an made a new choice.
Since even the repaired Treasure Tool still had its limitations...
Perhaps he should try and see what valuable Affixes he could Refine from it.
[Refining in progress. Estimated completion time: 5 hours.]
That was Lu Jing'an's wager.
He was betting that the Treasure Tool, the Phonograph, could yield useful Affixes.
Perhaps they could resolve their current predicament.
Even if he lost the bet,
the worst that could happen was losing one item—
an artifact that was already difficult to use for directly monitoring the Lin Family.
It would have no effect on the bigger picture.
He had already made it clear to his father, Lu Huaiqian, that this was just an experiment, and that failure would be no great matter.
Having died twice, his resolve had long since been tempered into steel.
He would never let a temporary gain or loss drive him into a dead end.
Lu Jing'an had no intention of wasting those five hours, so he went out into the courtyard.
Moonlight hazed the night, and shadows swayed among the trees.
He settled into a stance and began practicing his forms, one move after another.
Sweat gradually soaked through his training clothes.
There were fewer than fifty hours left before he would obtain his first red Affix.
Lu Jing'an was filled with anticipation.
After completing a set of punches, his breathing was long and steady, but his technique itself had made no notable breakthrough.
Lu Jing'an knew full well that his natural talent had originally been average.
After all his past indulgence in wine and women, it had probably long since fallen below average.
It was only thanks to [Extraordinary Physique] that he had managed to claw some of it back.
Expecting a few hours of hard training to bring him a dramatic breakthrough
was no different from a fool's pipe dream.
For a true transformation, he would have to wait for that red Affix to arrive.
After practicing his punches, it was time for his usual medicinal bath.
Cui Jieyi had already prepared the medicinal broth.
After informing him of the precautions, she took her leave.
Steam billowed through the bathing room, and the air was rich with the fragrance of herbs.
Lanhua was still kneeling behind the bathtub.
With just the right amount of pressure, she massaged the acupoints on Lu Jing'an's head and the muscles in his shoulders.
Only this time, her fingertips seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
Whenever they touched her young master's warm skin,
her ears couldn't help turning red.
Perhaps her bold words to her little sisters that evening still rang in her ears.
It was only natural that her feelings would be unsettled as she served him now.
Lu Jing'an noticed every one of her subtle reactions.
He found them rather amusing, but didn't call her out.
Forty minutes later, his body had absorbed all the medicinal properties, and the water had begun to cool.
Lu Jing'an rose from the tub, droplets sliding down his firm muscles.
Lanhua hurriedly picked up a dry, soft cloth.
Blushing and keeping her head bowed, she carefully dried him.
"M-My young master, you're all done," Lanhua murmured, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. She hardly dared look up at him.
Lu Jing'an put on his nightclothes and said casually:
"Mm. Thanks for your hard work today.
Go to the steward and collect ten silver dollars. Consider it a reward."
Lanhua jerked her head up, her eyes brimming with disbelieving delight.
Then her expression shifted to excitement and joy, and she quickly curtsied. "Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!"
Watching the little maid practically skip away,
Lu Jing'an had been about to tease her a little.
But a notification appeared, interrupting his train of thought.
[Refining complete]!
Before you continue