Big Shot Style: No Mercy for Enemies, a Gifted Blade, a Beauty's Affection—May I Follow the Flowing Moonlight to Shine Upon You!

"Brother Ji."

"This is for you."

Just as Ji Xiu's heart surged with emotion.

Wei Zhi suddenly rose from the side, removed the slender Embroidered Blade she had been pressing beneath her skirt, and gently placed it beside him.

The blade was thin as a cicada's wing and about an arm's length long, resembling both saber and sword. There seemed to be writing carved into the end of its hilt. One glance at the patterns on its sheath was enough to tell that it was worth no small sum.

Her eyes shimmered, her brows lifting slightly. She looked playful without losing her heroic air as she whispered:

"This blade was forged by a Great Craftsman after I used the blades carried by the lords of the Northern Garrison Envoys as reference. It surpasses ordinary iron."

"It is thin as a cicada's wing, yet it can bear force. It cuts iron like mud, and even if it strikes iron bones, it will not shatter. It has already entered the ranks of an Eighth Grade Mortal Weapon."

"Ordinary iron weapons, even forged weapons, are only Ninth Grade Mortal Weapons at most. They are far inferior to this."

"If measured in silver, it would cost at least two or three hundred taels, and even then, one often cannot find anyone willing to forge it."

"This time... I'm giving it to you, Brother Ji."

Ji Xiu lowered his head for a look. Back at Flying Swallow House, he had not been able to see it clearly and had only assumed it was a young lady's slender Embroidered Blade.

But when Wei Zhi used two slender fingers to gently draw back the sheath, revealing a sliver of gleaming steel, his pupils immediately contracted. His heart stirred despite himself.

Still, its value was far too great. He refused decisively:

"Miss Wei, I cannot accept this blade."

Before he could finish.

The woman gripped the flat of the blade and forcibly pressed it before him.

"I heard that when you were still of humble status, you relied on a single breath to knock open the Blade Gate and reach where you are today."

"Compared to you, I once pestered my father for this blade. Yet after it was forged, I only used it to weigh down my skirt. It was no different from a pearl buried in dust."

Wei Zhi shrugged, pretending not to care.

"In that case, I might as well give this slender Embroidered Blade to you. A treasured blade belongs with a hero. I hope that one day, you can be like the lords of the Northern Garrison Envoys—patrolling the realm and intimidating the out—"

Her brows and eyes curved as she was about to smile and continue, but when she saw Xu Heng's stiff expression beside her and Lu Yu clutching his chest with a pale face, she thought better of it. Lowering her lashes, she spoke softly.

But before she could finish.

Thud, thud, thud!

Several sharp footsteps suddenly crossed the threshold, interrupting their conversation.

"Father!"

The stiff-faced Xu Heng sprang to his feet with a whoosh when he saw Purple Robe Crane Xu Zhuang enter with a livid face. Joy flashed over his features, and he seemed to come alive again.

Ji Xiu looked over at the sound as well.

At a single glance, he saw the Three Seats of the Wind and Cloud Association: Lu Chengfeng, Purple Robe Crane Xu Zhuang, and Butcher Knife Wei Dingchang.

They entered the Wind and Cloud Association grounds with their foremost disciples in tow.

"Tiger Leopard Hall's people..."

"Were they this heavy-handed?"

Seeing his own son's arm swollen to such a state, Xu Zhuang knitted his brows tightly, and his refined face instantly turned stern.

Meanwhile, Lu Chengfeng entered with Lu Hongyu supporting him. The moment he saw Lu Yu, pale-faced with medicinal powder applied to him, anger rose in his eyes as well.

"There have been some small conflicts with them lately, but in all these years, it has been rare for those three families to be this united!"

"If they had done something else excessive, then so be it."

"But this time..."

"They have crossed the line!"

"We are all at the first stage of Skin Refinement, Jade Skin, and none of us has cultivated Outer Force. If we truly fight in earnest, do they think us businessmen really cannot defeat scum like them!?"

Lu Chengfeng's tone was sharp. Once he reached Lu Yu and examined him, he found that his son had only suffered superficial injuries, and his expression finally eased.

Then he turned to Ji Xiu, his eyes filled with both surprise and complexity.

"You..."

Lu Chengfeng recalled the rumors he had heard along the way. After holding back for several breaths, he finally said heavily:

"Excellent foundations!"

To overwhelm three Bone Tempering martial artists at Flying Swallow House, even if they had only just crossed the threshold, was impossible without skills rumored to approach the first hidden treasury of the human body, breaking through shackles and limits.

And Gold Muscle Jade Tendons could not be cultivated merely by swallowing medicine. It also required superior Pile Stance training.

Thinking of the One-Armed Constable Lu Yu had once mentioned, Lu Chengfeng understood everything.

This boy.

He had likely truly received that master's complete inheritance!

With that thought, his expression turned solemn, and he slapped his palm down heavily.

"From today onward, within the Wind and Cloud Association, no matter which of the Three Great Businesses it is."

"If any disciple is still dissatisfied with the position of Medicine Hall Master, bring them before me, Lu Chengfeng. I will personally punish them!"

"I would like to ask them face-to-face whether the fine seedling raised by my Lu Manor is qualified or not!"

"What do you two say?"

His gaze swept toward Purple Robe Crane Xu Zhuang and Butcher Knife Wei Dingchang.

The former shook his head, raising no objection.

Ji Xiu had brought out his own son. In both sentiment and reason, he owed the boy a debt of gratitude. That was an indisputable fact.

As for Butcher Knife Wei Dingchang, when he saw Wei Zhi unharmed, then saw the black-clad youth beside her holding a slender blade, he froze for a moment and remained silent for quite a while.

Then, the instant Lu Chengfeng finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and dragged Fang Xiao over from his side.

"Master?"

Fang Xiao shuddered, completely baffled.

"Kneel!"

Wei Dingchang gave a stern shout.

Bang!

Without even a tenth of a second's hesitation, this disciple who had achieved Bone Tempering dropped to both knees, nearly smashing through the floorboards.

"Yes!"

Fang Xiao raised his head.

"How did I teach you back then?"

"If you do something wrong, admit it."

"When you wrong someone, just kowtow and apologize!"

Wei Dingchang pressed down on his shoulder, rubbed his gleaming bald head, plucked an imaginary strand of hair, and blew it away before saying calmly.

Fang Xiao did not hesitate in the slightest. He looked at Ji Xiu.

"Brother Ji, I'm kowtowing to you!"

"I offended you before. You deserve the Hall Master's seat. You deserve to sit there as surely as heaven and earth!"

Bang, bang, bang!

After three resounding knocks, he displayed no emotion. His forehead reddened, and after cupping his fists, he retreated behind Wei Dingchang.

For a moment, everyone present fell silent.

If...

They remembered correctly, the one who had first stirred things up earlier seemed to be you, old man?

Ji Xiu rose from his chair and looked at the decisive Fang Xiao. He gave an "Uh," but before he could even stop him, it was already over.

"Take the young master back and let him recuperate."

Purple Robe Crane Xu Zhuang gave a quiet instruction to someone beside him, then hurriedly took Xu Heng away. Before leaving, he said to Lu Chengfeng and Wei Dingchang:

"Can we swallow this grievance?"

Lu Chengfeng's gaze turned cold and grim.

"Of course... we cannot let them have the final say!"

"We'll see about that."

With that, he too hurriedly took Lu Yu away to seek medicine and treatment.

Before leaving, Lu Hongyu looked at the slender blade hanging at Ji Xiu's chest. She wanted to speak, yet held herself back.

On the road to the Cattle and Sheep Market.

Wei Dingchang walked with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing the air of a big shot. After walking for some time, he abruptly sighed.

"Fang Xiao, you've reached Minor Accomplishment in Bone Tempering and become a Hall Master. Making you kneel and kowtow to someone must have been hard on you."

Fang Xiao grinned and patted the Black Water Flood Dragon tattoo on his left arm.

"Master, I've followed you around the markets since I was fourteen. It's been more than ten years. Before I followed you, I could bow and scrape to others. To save a little rent, I could even crawl through someone's legs. What are a few kowtows compared to that?"

"Besides..."

"If I didn't take this humiliation, would I make you do it instead? What kind of underling lets the big shot lose face while he refuses to kowtow himself?"

He patted his chest, utterly unconcerned, which made Wei Dingchang increasingly satisfied.

Sometimes.

When choosing a chief disciple, choosing the face of one's school.

It was not about how deep his scheming was or how capable he might be.

Even if his temperament was rash and he looked down on others, that was nothing.

So long as he was loyal, dutiful, and knew when to shoulder burdens and when to step forward, then even if he was a wild dog, with day after day of guidance, he could be trained into a wild flood dragon!

That was something Xu Zhuang and Lu Chengfeng, those two fellows, would never understand in their lifetimes!

At last, he looked toward his daughter at his right, slender in figure with a delicate narrow waist, who had grown up looking nothing like him at all. His expression was helpless.

"That slender blade—I begged every god and grandmother under the sun before I could have it forged for you after the Embroidered Spring Sabers of the Northern Garrison Envoys. It resembles both saber and sword. Do you know how much effort it took?"

"And you turned around and gave it away?"

"Your mother was a refined young lady, educated and from the Prefecture City."

"Before she left, she personally carved a short poem onto the hilt for you. I don't understand it, but..."

"That slender blade you used to weigh down your skirt was, according to her, for choosing a husband, for choosing a man!"

"That Ji Xiu is a dragon among men at a glance. In my view, Lu Chengfeng's daughter will probably still come up empty-handed in the end, like drawing water with a bamboo basket. Your investment of several hundred taels was truly—"

Wei Zhi smiled brightly.

"It doesn't matter."

"As long as I'm happy."

Wei Dingchang choked.

Involuntarily.

He remembered more than twenty years ago, when he had fought his way through the Five Hundred Li Mountain Road and arrived in Jiangyin Prefecture in a plain cloth robe, where he met that gentle woman.

Back then, he did not yet possess this overbearing air. On the contrary, he had been honest to a fault.

Back then.

When she followed him back to this shabby county town, she had said the same thing.

"You, honestly..."

Someone beside him handed over a tobacco pipe.

Wei Dingchang took a puff, and his gaze could not help turning distant.

This scene.

Looked so much like those days.

Fire Kiln, Lu Manor.

Under the glow of dusk.

The moment Ji Xiu stepped inside, he saw Hong Jiang instructing Ji Wei in blade techniques.

Lu Manor still had several martial arts suitable for Entering Force. Unlike Pile Stance training, which solidified one's foundations, casually practicing them to build a foundation was not bad either.

Thus, over the past few days, Ji Xiu had deliberately begun teaching Ji Wei blade work.

And Hong Jiang had gone from being a Fire Kiln retainer, to a member of the Wind and Cloud Association, to being completely convinced by him. He was now willing to serve him heart and soul.

Even when Ji Xiu was absent, he took the task of watching over Ji Wei upon himself.

This left Ji Xiu quite satisfied.

When he arrived.

Ji Wei, her forehead beaded with fine sweat, casually wiped it away. Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Brother!"

She then skipped over, making Ji Xiu smile faintly. He bent down and took a box of Golden Swallow Rouge from his robe, waving it before her.

"Look what this is."

The little girl saw the wood-grain box, and her eyes brightened further.

"Huh? Brother, you practice martial arts every day. Why would you buy this?"

She carefully accepted it, then happened to glimpse the slender blade at Ji Xiu's waist. Squinting, she touched its hilt.

"You even changed to a new blade. There are words on it too. Hmm..."

"Let me see."

She fiddled with it, looked carefully, and softly read aloud:

"May I follow the flowing moonlight to shine upon you."

Lu Hongyu, having settled Lu Yu's affairs before hurrying to the little courtyard, stepped over the threshold.

By sheer coincidence, she heard those words.

When she froze and stopped in place, then looked at that blade, her expression became complicated.

It was as though a precious jade she had discovered in the sand had suddenly been found by someone else, its radiance revealed. A trace of sourness rose in her heart.

Only.

When she saw that the youth smiled at his little sister's curiosity, removed the sheath, and handed it to her.

Then drew a deep breath, planted his stance, circulated his blood, tempered his great tendons, and focused completely without the slightest lingering attachment.

Leaning against the threshold, he fell silent for a long while, then could not help but laugh.

That was right.

Someone like this, free of distracting thoughts and filled with fervent passion.

If he did not draw attention,

that would be what was wrong.

"Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form advance progress +1!"

Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form: (19/30)

Beneath the setting sun, Ji Xiu, drenched in sweat, looked at the notification on the Primordial Dao Talisman.

After wiping away his sweat, he felt the tremor in his muscles and bones and clenched his fist.

"I've improved again!"