Keeping a Low Profile

"Come out."

There was an unquestionable note in the calm words.

Very quickly, a graceful figure stepped out from behind the low wall.

"Sir, please wait."

Shen Yuniang hurried over to Lu Fan in a few quick steps and gave him a deep bow.

Lu Fan said nothing. A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes behind the mask.

"What is it?"

"Well... sir, no, Elder Chen, thank you so much for saving my daughter earlier. If possible, could I invite you to my residence for a cup of tea?"

Shen Yuniang looked at him nervously, her tone full of cautious probing.

She did not mention recruitment outright, instead changing it to an invitation for tea. After all, Qin Yuan's direct attempt to recruit him had already failed.

Lu Fan raised his brow slightly and coldly spat out two words. "No need."

With that, he turned and left.

Shen Yuniang stood where she was, watching that hunched figure gradually disappear into the distance. A trace of bitterness rose on her charming face.

So it still wouldn't work...

She murmured softly, then turned and vanished into the night.

After leaving the Qin Estate, Lu Fan carefully sensed his surroundings. Once he confirmed that no one was following him, he immediately hurried back to his residence without looking back.

After closing the door, he removed the mask from his face.

The aged face beneath the mask was deathly pale, its lips streaked with dried blood.

In his earlier direct clash with Li Xiao, he had actually come out worse. He had suppressed his internal injuries all the way back. A Late Dark Force cultivator forcibly taking on a Transformation Grandmaster had ultimately been too reckless.

If his force had not been repeatedly compressed and refined through the Tortoise Breath Formula, making it several times denser than ordinary Dark Force, he would never have been able to withstand that punch.

This exchange had also made him fully see the gulf between Dark Force and Transformation Force. It was not merely the method of projecting force outward—the quality and quantity of force alone were as far apart as clouds and mud.

"Whew... I have to recover as soon as possible."

He sat cross-legged and circulated the Evergreen Formula, urging his blood and qi to mend his internal injuries.

However, the previous battle had nearly drained every last shred of blood and qi from his body. Though the Evergreen Formula could generate blood and qi, it still needed a living spring as its source.

His Qi Sea was now dry, and the Force Core was dim and without light. It was like a clever housewife trying to cook without rice.

Lu Fan could only dig out the meat he had stored earlier and barely replenish some blood and qi.

Under the hundredfold enhancement, that small amount of meat transformed into a thin stream flowing into his meridians. Yet for someone at Late Dark Force, the stream was swallowed up before it could even fill his Dantian.

Lu Fan put down the empty bowl and fell silent.

All of his Qi-Replenishing Pills had been used up. This little meat was enough only to let him move about with difficulty. If he wanted to recover from his injuries and break through to a higher realm, he had to obtain pills like Qi-Replenishing Pills.

Moreover, after this battle, he understood that if he wanted to gain a foothold in the coming quagmire of Chi City, he had to break through to Transformation Force as soon as possible.

The next day, Lu Fan resumed his identity as the old man working in the kitchen and arrived at Blackstone Martial Hall.

The martial hall had opened.

Yet until nearly noon, only a few students had trickled into the front courtyard.

The vast training ground was empty. Not a single shout of fists and feet tearing through the air could be heard, unlike on ordinary days.

While delivering meals, Lu Fan asked several of the students who had remained behind about the situation. The news he received made him frown deeply.

It turned out that Li Xiao had spread word throughout the city the previous night that he had entered the Transformation Force realm, declaring himself "Grandmaster Li."

Not only that, he had publicly announced that any student of Blackstone Martial Hall who transferred to Thunder Martial Hall within a week would have one year of tuition waived, receive a month's worth of meat, and gain the chance to receive his personal instruction.

Personal guidance from a Transformation Grandmaster, a full year of tuition waived, and a month of free meat.

With terms like that laid out, old favors and loyalties were worth less than nothing.

After all, the vast majority entered martial halls in order to become martial artists. Now that there was a better path ahead, there was no reason not to take it.

Lu Fan looked around the front courtyard. Most of the remaining students were in their early twenties and dressed plainly. One glance was enough to tell that they came from impoverished families.

They knew full well that even if they followed the crowd and transferred to Thunder Martial Hall, their talent and age meant they would receive neither further advancement nor special care.

By staying here, at least they would not have people pointing at their backs.

"Do those people really have no loyalty at all? If Master Zhang hadn't given the nod back then, they wouldn't even have touched the threshold of becoming martial artists."

"They were practicing fists with us here yesterday, and today they've all run off to the place across the street."

Several students complained in low voices, their tones full of indignation but also helplessness.

Especially now that news of Zhang Yao's injuries had spread, they did not even feel they had the confidence to get angry.

Just then, a graceful figure hurried in through the courtyard gate.

The moment everyone recognized her, they immediately fell silent.

Zhang Zhi walked through the front courtyard with a dark expression, her face frosty enough to be three parts colder than usual.

The students tactfully stepped aside and made a path for her.

She did not look at anyone and disappeared straight into the depths of the inner courtyard.

Lu Fan watched her back and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Deep within the inner courtyard, inside a room.

Zhang Yao sat behind a desk, his face pale as paper. A violent coughing fit made his shoulders heave without stop.

He raised a hand to cover his mouth, and his palm came away warm and wet.

"Father."

The moment Zhang Zhi stepped through the door and saw this scene, she stopped. A rare flash of pain surfaced on her cool face.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, yet not knowing what she could say.

Zhang Yao lowered his hand, casually wiped his palm against his sleeve, and smiled at her. "Silly girl, your father isn't dead yet. Just say what you came to say."

"...A lot of people didn't come."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Zhi finally spoke truthfully.

Zhang Yao's expression did not change.

He had noticed it long ago. At this time of day in the past, the shouts of students practicing fists would make the courtyard hum.

But today, the silence was unsettling.

Naturally, Thunder Martial Hall must have pulled some trick. They might even have been spreading rumors that Zhang Yao was finished.

"It's fine. Don't pay attention to them."

Zhang Yao shook his head.

"Mm."

Zhang Zhi nodded and silently withdrew from the room.

When the door closed, the color drained from Zhang Yao's face inch by inch.

He spread open his palm, revealing a patch of vivid red.

He stared silently at the bloodstain for a moment, then clenched his fist and drew his hand back into his sleeve.

Now, he could not even bring out half of his usual strength.

If another conflict broke out with Thunder Martial Hall, the consequences spoke for themselves.

For now, the only thing he could do was avoid the sharp edge and wait for an opportunity.

Of course, he himself knew perfectly well that such an opportunity was highly unlikely to come.

Unless he too entered the Transformation Force realm, there was simply no way for him to resolve Blackstone Martial Hall's present crisis.

Before long, Blackstone Martial Hall's silence and lack of rebuttal came to be seen by the people of Chi City as Zhang Yao lowering his head and admitting defeat.

That was hardly surprising. His opponent was a Transformation Grandmaster, after all. Tucking one's tail between one's legs and preserving oneself was the wisest course.

In no time, Blackstone Martial Hall's reputation plummeted.

Meanwhile, Thunder Martial Hall's momentum soared, becoming the place that Chi City's younger generation would fight tooth and nail to enter.