My Body Unshackled, Martial Dao Boundless: If I Must, I'll Be an Honored Guest, Not a Servant Beneath the Steps! (Please Keep Reading!)

Suddenly.

As if realizing he had lost his composure.

Lu Yu looked again at Duantou Duan, whose expression had remained utterly still from beginning to end. His lips were merely pressed tight, and no one knew what he was thinking. Lu Yu inwardly cursed. Damn.

He realized that he had overstepped.

The reason he had still become Duantou Duan's only apprentice besides Ji Xiu after stumbling upon Duantou Duan's true martial prowess all those years ago—

Was not only because he had passed the trial.

More importantly, it was because he understood the rules and had never revealed even the slightest detail about Duantou Duan to the outside world.

Not even to his father, Manor Lord Lu, who had founded Lu Manor and managed several businesses and establishments throughout the county!

He knew very little of the hidden intricacies, believing only that Duantou Duan was a martial arts master who had entered Skin Refinement.

But in truth.

Only Lu Yu knew,

That this man had at the very least achieved mastery in Skin Refinement, perhaps even cultivated Outer Force!

Otherwise,

When Lu Yu had caught sight of him back then, how could he have remained untouched even by a shower of rain!?

Still,

His sudden loss of composure could not really be blamed on him.

After all, martial arts truly did not place much importance on aptitude.

No matter how exceptional one's natural physique, could it compare to being force-fed medicinal baths, pills, earthly treasures, and Heavenly Materials day after day?

Without resources, even the strongest bones and body were nothing but empty talk.

But,

There was one exception alone.

Talent.

An understanding of martial scriptures that surpassed ordinary people.

It was the sole reliance by which someone of humble birth might possibly become a Martial Dao Expert.

At first,

When Ji Xiu practiced his saber.

Lu Yu could tell that Duantou Duan had merely seen the boy's resolute temperament. Ji Xiu was willing to stake everything on one desperate throw, making him promising material, so Duantou Duan had taken pity on him and given him a chance.

But he had only given him half a year.

Because he was certain.

For a poor boy like him, without a master's teachings, without foundations, and busy all day long without even the conditions to practice the saber, half a year was not enough for him to accomplish anything.

In the end, he would only be left clutching shattered hopes and resigning himself to fate.

Yet unexpectedly.

Ji Xiu had shattered that cage.

A servant?

What family's servant was this!

To order around and drive a man with such astonishing talent for martial arts, who worked so hard—rising at five in the morning, serving others, tending horses, practicing the saber, and still remaining so earnest and diligent?

They were simply blind as bats!

"Over the next few days, I must get to the bottom of this."

After giving Ji Xiu a deep look.

Lu Yu left without looking back.

Because he knew,

If he stayed any longer today, he would be unable to recognize a favor when it was offered.

"Mm."

"Your practice was passable."

"Go light the stove and cook."

After a long silence.

No one knew what this martial man in violet had been thinking. He merely grunted, then pointed toward the kitchen and ordered Ji Xiu to cook as usual.

Lu Yu's departure did not even make him lift his eyes.

Seeing this, Ji Xiu said nothing. Used to it by now, he sheathed his saber in the weapon rack, then carried over a bundle of firewood and got the stove going with a huff and puff, slaughtering fish and stewing meat.

Fortunately, he had known a bit of cooking in both this life and his last.

Otherwise,

With Duantou Duan eating lavish fish and meat every day, four dishes at every meal, Ji Xiu might not have been able to make food to his taste.

Before long,

Braised pork cooked until tender, fresh fish soup white as milk, a plate of tiger-skin chicken feet with crisp skin and tender meat, and a dish of fried crunchy broad beans—

Were brought one by one to the stone table beside the weapon rack as Ji Xiu swallowed his saliva.

He also fetched a jar of wine from the cellar and placed it beside Duantou Duan.

Over the past few days of observation.

Ji Xiu had discovered that this lord liked to drink with chicken feet when he ate. He could drink quite a lot each time, so Ji Xiu had deliberately catered to his preferences.

After finishing his chores.

Though he had made these fragrant dishes himself.

Ji Xiu forcefully suppressed the hungry growl in his stomach, endured his hunger, steadied his thoughts, and was about to take a plain saber from the weapon rack to practice a few more times during this rare and precious break.

However,

Duantou Duan, who had never once called him to the table these past few days, unexpectedly spoke this time:

"Come here."

"Sit."

He raised his chopsticks and pointed at the small stool opposite him.

"From now on, when you eat,"

"You may set out a pair of chopsticks for yourself."

Duantou Duan did not say much.

But Ji Xiu's spirits rose at once.

Over the past few days, although Duantou Duan had occasionally given him a few pointers, the time had been too short. Ji Xiu simply could not yet make much of anything from them.

Though nothing showed on the surface.

Ji Xiu could keenly sense it.

The favorable impression he had desperately earned before Duantou Duan a few days ago by hanging on with his last breath was rapidly fading before his very eyes.

A moment of pity, a moment of sentiment, could not last a lifetime. Ji Xiu understood that better than anyone.

At first, he had been a disciple.

But.

If things continued at this pace, in less than half a month, Duantou Duan's assessment of him would fall until he became a true servant.

By then, he would be no different from the groom at Lin Residence!

Fortunately.

After successfully advancing the Heavenly River Saber Technique and entering its beginner stage, he had finally turned things around for himself.

At the very least, in Duantou Duan's eyes, he had now earned recognition, established a foothold, and firmly secured his status as a disciple.

As for the rest,

He would need to keep working hard.

A meal had to be eaten one bite at a time.

And a road had to be walked one step at a time before one could stand firmly upon the ground!

Ji Xiu sat upright, his thoughts elsewhere.

Though Duantou Duan had called him to the table,

If Duantou Duan did not move his chopsticks or open his mouth.

Ji Xiu truly did not dare move.

"Sixteen years old. Six days. You have entered the beginner stage of saber technique."

"With such talent."

"If you ask to serve under your Senior Brother Lu, he can not only help you tear up your slave contract, he can also send you soaring to the heavens in a single leap. From then on, you will no longer have to endure the cold looks of others."

"Perhaps you do not know what that means."

"Let me tell you."

"With a single word from him, you can receive a monthly salary of ten taels of silver and ten thousand coins, eat meat at every meal to nourish your body, live in a grand residence, and oversee three to five idle hands who will run errands for you."

"From then on, you will count as a cut above others."

"If you are willing, I can take you there. When the time comes, give him a grand salute and kowtow once, and the matter will be settled."

"In the future, you can live at ease and have more time to hone your saber skills."

Duantou Duan picked up a piece of braised pork and chewed it slowly before suddenly speaking.

Ji Xiu froze after hearing this.

Was this—

A path being pointed out for him?

He had to admit it.

He was tempted.

All he had to do was lower his head and work under someone, and he could gain such benefits. And with someone in court, things were easier to handle; he would no longer have to live from one day to the next as he had at Lin Residence.

Where else could one find such a windfall falling from the sky?

But,

When Ji Xiu looked at Duantou Duan's calm, unfathomable expression, his heart suddenly tightened.

Just now, when his saber technique had entered the beginner stage, this man and Senior Brother Lu had reacted in anything but an ordinary manner.

Perhaps for martial artists, this was an extraordinarily remarkable achievement. Otherwise, could just any stray cat or dog obtain such a good position?

But if he truly had such value.

Then his relationship with Lu Yu would naturally grow closer in the future.

When the time came, if he found an opportunity to bring it up, whether Duantou Duan stepped in or not would not matter. He could still secure such a position.

Moreover, based on the familiarity they had built over these past few days.

Ji Xiu felt that these words did not fit Duantou Duan's temperament.

They were more like.

A test.

Thus, he weighed his words carefully.

In the end, he still took the risk and spoke:

"I am unwilling."

Duantou Duan raised a brow, seemingly somewhat surprised.

He looked at him more closely and found no joy on the poor boy's face at having caught such overwhelming fortune. Unable to help himself, he asked:

"Oh? Why?"

"Do you know that once you pass this village, there will be no such inn?"

There was a probing note in his voice.

"When I became a groom at Lin Residence, I sold myself for only three taels of silver. That is not even one-third of the monthly salary Master Duan spoke of."

"By all rights, I should be overjoyed."

"But."

"Six days of practicing the saber have shown me this."

Ji Xiu took a deep breath. After refusing such overwhelming benefits, his state of mind instead calmed, and his speech became unhurried.

"Being a groom at Lin Residence or Senior Brother Lu's servant is, at the root of it all, no different. It is merely leaping from one cage into another."

"The path sought through martial arts should be to demonstrate one's own value, so that others treat one with courtesy and lower themselves to associate as equals."

"That should be a friend, a retainer, a comrade-in-arms."

"And only one thing it should not be... is a servant!"

"What is begged for and what is invited are worlds apart."

"My body is unshackled, martial dao is boundless. If I must be something, I will be an honored guest at the seat of honor, not a servant beneath the steps!"

"Though this is a path,"

"It is not the path Ji Xiu wishes to seek."

"Senior Brother Lu is not here, yet I have spoken so many arrogant words. That was my fault."

"Master Duan, please eat first."

"I will go practice my saber for a while."

With that, Ji Xiu offered an apology and moved to set down his chopsticks.

At that moment, Duantou Duan rose and pressed him back down.

"Sit."

Ji Xiu looked up and saw that, for one fleeting instant, the martial man before him shone as brilliantly as a lion.

But in the next moment, it sank back into silence, returning to its former calm.

"My surname is Duan."

"My name is..."

"Duan Chenzhou."

"Remember this name."

Staring into Ji Xiu's eyes, Duan Chenzhou spoke in a somewhat complicated tone:

"Getting started with the Six-Day Saber Technique is not bad, but it is only not bad."

"But if you want your Senior Brother Lu to truly bend his pride and befriend you, to treat you as an 'honored guest'..."

"First, you must become a true martial artist."

He reached out and pushed an empty cup before Ji Xiu, personally filling it as his tone gradually turned solemn:

"If you can reach that day..."

"You..."

"Will become my Registered Disciple."

"As for now..."

"Let me tell you what a martial artist is, and what are known as... the Three Gates and Nine Realms!"

He tapped his chopsticks. For the first time, a grave—even reverent—expression appeared on his face.

This was...

A sight Ji Xiu had never witnessed before.

And from this moment onward...

He knew that he...

Had made the right gamble!