Secret Talks

Chen Yiming and Chen Yingying stopped at the entrance to the Quiet Lake Residential Community.

The entrance was heavily guarded. More than a dozen security guards patrolled or stood watch, each carrying a weapon.

The man clearly in charge directed the others from time to time. He was noticeably larger than the rest, and even at a glance, he radiated a fierce air.

The community had more than guards to protect it. Its outer wall rose over ten meters high and was topped with metal spikes modeled after those on a city wall, keeping ordinary thieves from climbing over.

The two went to the guardhouse to register as new residents.

"Let me see your ID cards," the guard said.

The guard handling visitor registration was a man around thirty, with sharply defined muscles and keen, shrewd eyes.

Chen Yiming and Chen Yingying took their ID cards from their pockets and handed them over. Their parents had already told them they would need to register, so they had brought their cards when they went out that morning.

The guard took out the information left for him and compared the photos on their cards with their faces.

"Sign the register, and you can go in," the guard said once he had confirmed everything.

Chen Yiming and Chen Yingying entered the community and soon found Unit 1203 in Building 6, following the address their mother had given them.

"Finished everything? Come on in." Their mother had seen her son and daughter through the peephole when they knocked and opened the security door.

"It's all taken care of." Chen Yiming took off his shoes and stepped inside.

"The living room here is so much nicer." As soon as Chen Yingying entered, she wandered around looking at it.

The apartment had three bedrooms and two living areas. It had been renovated within the last two years, and all the furniture was new, giving it a modern look.

"The landlord hasn't rented it out since the renovation, so it's practically brand-new. Of course it's nice." Their mother smiled and took Chen Yingying's hand. "Come with me. I'll show you your room."

Chen Yingying happily followed her mother to her room. Before long, her laughter came from inside.

"Yiming, there's a huge balcony beside the living room. Do you want to use it for your morning practice?" his father asked.

The balcony had been made especially large, nearly ten meters long and two and a half meters wide. Both the smaller bedroom and the living room had doors opening onto it. His father had noticed it as soon as he viewed the apartment.

Chen Yiming walked from the living room onto the balcony and gauged how much space he had to move.

"Let Yingying use it. I'll keep going to the academy for morning practice," Chen Yiming replied.

The balcony was big enough for a beginner like Chen Yingying, but a little small for him. He might damage something if he was careless.

"Then it's Yingying's." His father noticed that Chen Yiming seemed preoccupied. "If you have something else to do, go ahead. Your mother and I can handle things here."

"Okay, I'll head out," Chen Yiming said.

An afternoon was short, and helping his sister had already taken up a good deal of it. Zhang Youde had unexpectedly invited him to tea, saying he had something Chen Yiming would find interesting.

They had joined the academy at the same time, and Chen Yiming felt it would be rude to keep turning him down. He had already planned to go once he finished helping with the move.

Mingyuan Tea House.

Zhang Youde had booked a private room. He sipped tea as he thought.

A fair amount of spent tea leaves lay in the wastebasket beside the table. Clearly, he had been waiting a long time.

Chen Yiming entered the private room and sat across from Zhang Youde.

"What made you ask me out all of a sudden?"

"No rush. Have some tea first, and we'll talk," Zhang Youde said calmly.

He poured out the old tea and brewed a fresh cup for Chen Yiming.

Zhang Youde had not been particularly upset when Chen Yiming refused his invitation to join the Mutual Aid Association. They had a minor grudge between them already, so it was only natural that Chen Yiming did not trust him.

Chen Yiming patiently finished his tea and waited for Zhang Youde to speak.

"How much do you know about the South City Li Family?" Zhang Youde asked.

The South City Li Family had a seven-time Body Metamorphosis expert at its helm, and its businesses spanned East Lake City. It was a martial arts power one tier below those with a Warrior-level expert.

"I train at the academy every day. I don't know a thing about Martial Arts Families," Chen Yiming admitted.

The only Martial Arts Family he had encountered was Senior Brother Wang's Wang Family Village, and even then, he knew little beyond the surface.

"News just came out that the Li Family's head met with an accident and died in the Wilderness Zone. He was a seven-time Body Metamorphosis expert," Zhang Youde said slowly.

He drained the tea in front of him.

"And?" Chen Yiming asked.

"Rumor has it that the Li Family's head used an incomplete Warrior-level Sword Technique to break past the sixth Body Metamorphosis barrier when he was young. But none of his descendants has managed to cross that barrier. The strongest has only undergone five Body Metamorphoses." Zhang Youde glanced at him as he continued.

"You mean we should steal the Swordsmanship?" Chen Yiming asked.

"No. We're not strong enough to fight over it. That's for people who've undergone more than six Body Metamorphoses," Zhang Youde explained.

"What I mean is that you and I should work together to claim a small portion of the Li Family's businesses. Without a seven-time Body Metamorphosis head to protect them, they'll have to give those businesses up anyway. Why not to us?" Zhang Youde continued.

The size of the businesses a martial arts power could hold in East Lake City depended on the strength of its experts. When a family declined, it would generally surrender any businesses beyond its ability to defend rather than risk being wiped out.

"I see. But I've only undergone one Body Metamorphosis, and you've undergone two. Why would anyone take us seriously?" Chen Yiming asked.

"Because I speak for one branch of the Zhang Family, and you're a potential Core Disciple of the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy. Together, we can just about count as being on the level of someone who's undergone three Body Metamorphoses.

"And to protect itself, a declining Martial Arts Family will divide the businesses it gives up into as many shares as possible," Zhang Youde said quietly.

Giving up those businesses served another purpose: the family could trade them for support and rebuild its network of connections.

"I understand," Chen Yiming said. Then another question occurred to him. "Why is everyone fighting over an incomplete Warrior-level Sword Technique? Can't the technique the academy teaches us take us to the Warrior Realm?"

The academy master was in the Warrior Realm, and Mantis Snake Swordsmanship was his primary technique. Chen Yiming had naturally assumed he could use it to reach the Warrior Realm too.

"You didn't know? The technique taught to ordinary students doesn't include the part that takes you from the Apprentice Realm to the Warrior Realm. You have to become a Core Disciple to even have a chance of learning that part from the academy master," Zhang Youde explained.

"So that's why people are fighting over an incomplete technique." Chen Yiming nodded.

"Exactly. And even if you become a Core Disciple, the academy master still won't teach you how to reach the Warrior Realm unless you're among the strongest Core Disciples and show the potential to break through," Zhang Youde added.