The Heirloom Weapon and Three Secret Manuals

"Whew."

Li Dao blew a long breath over the chest, scattering the layer of dust onto the floor, then set the chest down.

Finding the clasp, he pinched it between his fingers. It shattered under his immense strength, and he opened the chest.

As the lid rose, a faint bloody scent mingled with the smell of iron drifted into his nostrils.

He looked inside and saw a jet-black halberd over three meters long resting quietly in the chest.

Three yellowed ancient books lay in the gaps beside it.

"Old man, these things ended up in my hands after all."

Li Dao ran a hand over the cold halberd and murmured to himself.

When Great Qian was first founded, the Li family had been granted a first-rank marquisate through military merit. Thus, they were a family of military officers. Every family head learned martial arts from childhood and automatically became a commander of Great Qian upon reaching adulthood.

Precisely for that reason, although ten generations had passed between Great Qian's founding and Li Dao's generation, the family still held a third-rank earldom.

That was because several family heads along the way had become generals and earned military merit, preserving their rank or even raising it.

Of course, not every generation of the Li family could become generals.

To become a military commander in Great Qian, one prerequisite had to be met: sufficient cultivation.

The Li family could bypass many obstacles and directly command a region, but cultivation was the foundation of everything. The higher their cultivation, the more troops they could command. Without cultivation, they could only enlist as officers whose duties leaned toward administration.

That was why Li Dao's father in this life had tested his aptitude so early. He wanted his son to build a solid foundation.

What he had never expected was that Li Dao could not cultivate at all.

Still, his father had taken it in stride. After learning that his son could not cultivate, he had not forced the issue, choosing instead to let him enjoy a peaceful life. As long as the Li family continued, having one useless family head along the way did not matter, provided the next generation could take over.

But his father had never expected to die in an accident before he could personally raise his grandson.

And his own son had nearly died in a place like the Death Row Camp.

Touching the halberd in the chest, Li Dao could not help recalling his childhood.

Before his memories awakened, he had not been entirely a wastrel.

Before his aptitude was tested, his father had been strict with him. Early to bed, early to rise, physical training, calligraphy, poetry-he had raised him to excel in everything.

Back then, Li Dao had been determined, too. After learning that his father was a general, he had dreamed of becoming a commander himself, killing enemies on the battlefield and winning glory.

Unfortunately, everything changed after the test revealed that he had no aptitude for cultivation.

Li Dao glanced at the halberd, reached out, and lifted it.

Its material felt cold, much like the Black Iron Saber at his waist, but its quality was even better.

Only then did he recall his father saying that this heirloom halberd had been forged from ten-thousand-year black iron.

The halberd measured eleven chi-roughly 3.2 meters-and was pitch-black all over, with dragon patterns upon it.

Hence its other name: the Dragon-Patterned Halberd.

Li Dao hefted it experimentally and found that its weight was extraordinary, too.

Perhaps because of its material, the halberd weighed at least two hundred jin.

To take it onto the battlefield, one would need at least a thousand jin of strength. To wield the Dragon-Patterned Halberd freely required at least three thousand.

No wonder his father had told him as a child that, among all the Li family heads, only their founding ancestor could wield it with ease. With that weight, only someone born with divine strength who also practiced a body-tempering cultivation method could possibly use it.

Otherwise, even an ordinary Xiantian Martial Artist would struggle to wield this weapon through physical strength alone.

Returning the Dragon-Patterned Halberd to the chest, he turned his attention to the three books beside it.

He picked them up and found that their titles were:

"Peerless Halberd Art."

"Tyrant Tiger Mental Art."

"Pagoda Art of War."

A martial technique, a cultivation method, and a military treatise.

Li Dao remembered these three books. They were secret manuals passed down exclusively within the Li family, but he had heard that all three were easy to learn and difficult to master. Few could truly master them completely.

After looking them over, Li Dao returned the three books to the chest and closed it.

"Time to go."

Li Dao lit three more sticks of incense and knelt reverently before the ancestral tablets, then turned, lifted the chest, and left the ancestral hall.

Soon afterward, he found the family genealogy in his late father's study and put it away.

Apart from these things, the vast Earl of Anyuan's residence held nothing else of value. Whatever remained could be lost. As long as these things survived, the Li family would eventually rise again.

Before long, Li Dao found Jiu'er again.

"Little girl, it's time to go."

Li Dao spoke as he pushed open the door and looked at Jiu'er.

"Yes, Young Master."

Jiu'er ran to a cabinet, opened it, and took out a bundle she had packed long ago. Clearly, she had already prepared to leave.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

A little later.

Outside the Earl of Anyuan's residence, a group arrived carrying equipment.

They drew plenty of spectators, too. It seemed many people knew that disaster would strike the residence today.

The onlookers began discussing the scene.

"Tsk, tsk. The Earl of Anyuan's residence is in for trouble today."

"More than trouble. With the Chancellor's Residence taking action, there won't be an Earl of Anyuan's residence in the Imperial Capital anymore."

"They deserve it. Who told that wastrel to ruin Princess Mingyue's chastity? They're lucky their entire clan wasn't exterminated."

"True, though it's a pity."

"What's a pity?"

"The Imperial Capital will lose a favorite topic of conversation. Once the Earl of Anyuan's residence is gone, who will those scholars curse?"

"Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel like the Chancellor's Residence is doing them a favor."

"..."

A man dressed as a steward stepped out from the Chancellor's Residence's group and ordered the others, "All of you, charge in and smash everything! Smash it inside and out! Don't leave a single thing intact!"

"Yes!"

At his command, the crowd rushed into the Earl of Anyuan's residence.

Several servants immediately began smashing the vermilion gates. Within moments, the gates had been reduced to wreckage.

Seeing this, the steward looked satisfied and continued issuing orders. "The rest of you, hurry up! Smash anything inside that's still intact!"

Then he glanced at the two stone lions outside the entrance and sneered.

Walking up to one lion, he struck it with his palm.

A visible burst of true qi shot out, and the stone lion instantly exploded.

He then shattered the other stone lion in the same fashion.

At the sight, someone in the crowd exclaimed, "As expected of the Chancellor's Residence. Even some random steward has innate realm cultivation."

Someone else said, "What's the innate realm? I heard the Chancellor's Residence is teeming with experts, including grandmaster realm masters."

Meanwhile.

In a secluded alley beside the crowd, Li Dao and Jiu'er stood watching the scene nearby.

"These people have gone too far!"

Jiu'er's eyes reddened, her face filled with anger.

Watching people smash her home before her eyes, she could hardly avoid feeling heartbroken.

Li Dao shook his head and rested his hand on her head, comforting her for a moment before saying slowly, "This is simply reality. Don't be upset."

Before his memories awakened, he might have been furious at this sight, perhaps even rushing out to fight those people to the death.

But after his memories awakened, and after his trials in the Death Row Camp, he had seen through it all.

Everywhere, the weak were prey to the strong.

Today, his Earl of Anyuan's residence lacked power. If the Chancellor's Residence destroyed it, he could only blame his own weakness.

But likewise, should he become powerful someday, the Chancellor's Residence would meet the death it deserved.

"Let's go. We should leave first, in case the Chancellor's Residence refuses to let matters rest and targets the people here, too."

Li Dao spoke.

Hearing this, Jiu'er set aside her sorrow and asked, "Then, Young Master, where are we going now?"

Li Dao touched the chest on his back, suddenly recalling what Wei Yun had once told him. He raised his hand and rested it on Jiu'er's head. "Jiu'er, tell me honestly. Do you want to come back here someday?"

"I..."

Jiu'er glanced at the courtyard being wrecked nearby, then turned back to her young master, her face full of worry. "I'm afraid something will happen to you."

Clearly, she understood very well how dangerous it was for his identity to come to light.

Seeing what his little maid was thinking, Li Dao shook his head with a faint smile. "Nothing will happen to your young master. Just tell me whether you want to come back someday."

"Yes!"

This time, Jiu'er gave a firm answer.

To her, life had two stages.

One was the painful period when she fled famine with her parents, only to survive alone.

The other was the happy life after she came to the Imperial Capital and her young master took her home, when she had enough food and warm clothes, and he teased, flirted with, and doted on her.

That second life held her most precious memories, all of which had taken place in the Earl of Anyuan's residence in the Imperial Capital. Naturally, she wanted to return.

Hearing this, Li Dao stroked her hair and chuckled. "Then we'll go somewhere that will let us walk openly into the Imperial Capital someday."

Jiu'er looked astonished. "Young Master, does a place like that really exist?"

Li Dao smiled slightly. "Your young master crawled out of just such a place."

Jiu'er suddenly looked puzzled. "Young Master, why did you crawl?"

Li Dao shook his head without explaining.

But inwardly, he murmured, Because that place is hell for ordinary people!

"All right, let's go."

"Yes, Young Master."

The sounds of destruction continued outside. In the alley on the other side, two figures, one tall and one small, gradually walked deeper into its shadows until they disappeared.

The Iron Family residence.

Two graceful figures sat beneath a pavilion in a courtyard.

The girl with a somewhat more mature air sat on a stone stool, quietly brewing tea.

The other girl, who looked younger and less seasoned, crouched down and teased the fish in the lake with a twig.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded.

Before long, an honest-looking man in his forties knelt on one knee on the steps outside the pavilion. "Your subordinate Tie Xin pays his respects to the Third Miss."

Seated inside the pavilion, Tie Sanniang did not even glance at him. She poured herself a cup of tea and tasted it with her red lips. Only after nodding in satisfaction did she turn her gaze toward him.

"How is the investigation going?"

Tie Xin lowered his head and replied gravely, "Third Miss, everything has been investigated thoroughly. All the traitors are under watch."

"Have you finished investigating the other matter I assigned you?"

"Yes. The Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master have recently been very close to the Third Prince. We also discovered some friction between the Fourth Prince and Third Prince."

Tie Sanniang's hand paused. "All right. I understand."

Tie Xin asked, "Third Miss, how should we deal with those traitors?"

"Make their journey to the next world a little slower."

"Understood, Third Miss."

"All right. You may withdraw."

"Then I shall take my leave."

Without raising his head, Tie Xin bowed respectfully, then turned and walked away.

After he left, Bi You'er finished playing and came over, asking in confusion, "Miss, do you suspect the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master arranged an ambush against you?"

"What are you thinking, silly girl?"

Before Bi You'er, Tie Sanniang lost her earlier sharpness, and her voice softened considerably. "I never suspected those two idiots."

"That's true."

Bi You'er suddenly giggled. "Although the two young masters are idiots who spend their days idling around and getting bullied by you, they still dote on their little sister."

At those words, a hint of amusement appeared in Tie Sanniang's eyes.

Outsiders said that she, a daughter, had stolen her two brothers' limelight. There were even rumors that she wanted to kick them out and monopolize the Iron Family's businesses.

But only she knew that everything she had achieved had been forced upon her by her two brothers. Nor did anyone know how her brothers treated her.

Still, she did not care about such reputations. In her eyes, a bad name was much better than a good one, especially since she was a woman.

But a moment later, her head began to ache again. Recalling her subordinate's report, she told Bi You'er, "Go tell those two idiots that they're not allowed to talk about me outside anymore."

Then her tone changed, turning cold. "Also, notify our people to cut off half our business with the Fourth Prince and all our business with the Third Prince."

Bi You'er froze. From Tie Xin's earlier report, she had roughly understood that the incident on their return to the Imperial Capital involved the Fourth Prince. Why did the response now seem backward?

Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "Miss, why?"

Tie Sanniang snorted softly and explained, "Because their objectives were different."

"The Fourth Prince was targeting the Third Prince."

"But the Third Prince was scheming against my two idiot brothers."

"Although those two idiots are good for nothing, scheming against them means targeting our Iron Family. What happened afterward only happened because of him. Who else should I target?"

Bi You'er knitted her delicate brows. "But the Fourth Prince targeted you, Miss. Is that little punishment all he gets?"

"Who said that?"

"Then, Miss, you mean..."

"The Iron Family is the Iron Family, and I am me. Of course I have to exact my revenge with my own hands."

At those words, Bi You'er silently mourned the Fourth Prince.

She vaguely remembered what had happened to the last person her young mistress had dealt with personally.

It seemed that person and their entire Lineage had been conned into ending up in the Far North Region.

Tie Sanniang suddenly clapped Bi You'er on the shoulder. "All right, hurry and pass the word along. Come to the palace with me this afternoon. Let's see how Mingyue has been doing lately."

"Yes, young mistress."