The next day, dawn had barely broken.
The morning mist had yet to disperse completely, hanging like a gauze curtain over the Lu residence.
In the inner courtyard, Lu Sui wore loose training clothes as he twisted his waist, drove his shoulders forward, stepped through his stances, and threw punches!
Visible rings of air rippled outward, like a pebble dropped into water pushing waves out layer by layer, striking the grape trellis by the wall.
Rustle!
Large swaths of half-yellow stems and leaves shook, almost falling free.
Ten punches!
After just ten punches, sweat already beaded on Lu Sui's forehead.
The muscles in his arms and thighs quivered wildly, scorching Qi and Blood racing through him and washing unchecked through his limbs and bones.
Thirty punches!
Lu Sui felt his fists growing heavier and heavier, his muscles and bones more and more leaden.
With every punch, he could hear his blood rushing, bringing waves of tingling numbness.
"Breath nourishes the body, Qi and Blood strengthen the bones, then training consumes them to make the physique sturdier. Repeat that process until the bottleneck breaks..."
Sweat steamed from Lu Sui's entire body, his pores opening as though gulping down air.
A quarter of an hour later.
Lu Sui's punches grew increasingly slow, as though his strength were exhausted.
"Forty-nine punches a day is my limit. How long will I have to keep punching to reach a million?!"
As he exhaled a long breath of stale air, Lu Sui looked as though he had been fished out of water, soaking wet.
His training clothes clung to his flesh, outlining his back and radiating an intensely masculine presence.
Because of those striking phoenix eyes, his original body's appearance had leaned toward the feminine, a man with somewhat womanly features.
Since he began practicing martial arts, the nourishment of Qi and Blood and the stretching of his sinews and bones had made his figure increasingly tall and straight, adding a measure of youthful valor.
[Seeing you throw forty-nine punches, your heart firm as a boulder and your resolve soaring!] [The "Panwu Great Strength True Art" greatly approves, circulating your Qi and Blood to cleanse and temper your sinews and bones!]
"A little more strength every day would add up to quite a substantial amount over time.
"If I paired it with an immortality talent, perhaps I too would have the potential to reign supreme through strength."
Lu Sui's thoughts wandered into flights of fancy.
He dreamed of learning an immortal art of longevity, then spiraling into the heavens by stepping on his right foot with his left!
He returned to his room, wiped himself down, changed clothes, then drank several bowls of richly nourishing soup to replenish his spent stamina.
Lu Sui immediately felt refreshed and comfortable all over.
He looked at Xiaohuan, who was attending him.
"Where's Xiaotang? Why haven't I seen her today?"
Xiaohuan lowered her head to fasten Lu Sui's belt and straighten his fitted outfit.
"Sister Xiaotang went to the accounts office to collect silver. When Master heard you'd made a name for yourself at the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School, he was very pleased and said he would raise your monthly allowance."
Sure enough, working hard to improve his credit score had been the right choice!
The corners of Lu Sui's lips lifted slightly. More living expenses were naturally good news.
Without money, one could hardly take a step; with a generous purse, things were easier to accomplish.
After all, his previous monthly "limit" had only been four or five hundred taels, just enough for roughly ten days of richly nourishing medicinal meals.
Lu Yulin ran a strict household. Even though Lu Sui was his only son, he could not withdraw a thousand taels of silver at will.
Anyone who had been a rich second-generation heir knew that how much you were given to use and how much you could spend were actually two different things.
Before a second-generation heir took over, every request for money required some thought.
Dad Yulin is loyal!
Lu Sui silently gave him a thumbs-up, then said:
"Then you'll come to the martial arts school with me."
"M-me?"
Xiaohuan froze briefly.
The maids and serving girls of wealthy households had no personal freedom to speak of. Most were restricted to the inner courtyards and rear quarters.
Unless accompanying their master or running errands and buying supplies, they rarely had a chance to step outside the gates.
As for visiting their families, that required their master's gracious permission.
Lu Sui lightly brushed a finger across Xiaohuan's cheek and said with a smile:
"My waist and back ache after standing in stances for so long. If someone gave me a massage, I might just buy her a skewer of candied hawthorn as a reward."
Xiaohuan hurriedly pulled Lu Sui toward the bed.
"Young Master, Young Master, hurry and lie down!
"Let Xiaohuan pound your legs and knead your shoulders!"
"Let's go. The Hundred Victories Martial Arts School."
After dawdling until noon, Lu Sui strode out of his room.
Well fed and watered, with his Qi and Blood thriving, he was full of vigor and glowing with health, maintaining an excellent condition.
He reckoned another month or so of effort should bring him to the threshold of linking the six harmonies.
After that, he would repeatedly renew his condensed Qi and Blood, cleansing his body and gently nourishing his bones.
"At this rate, I'll reach the middle stage of the Internal Nourishment Realm in about half a year."
Lu Sui thought of how martial artists always talked about three years to nourish Qi, five years to strengthen blood, and ten years for force tempering.
An absolute exaggeration!
How could training be that difficult?!
Lu Sui passed through corridors and walkways into the front hall, greeted Master Chai, who had been waiting for some time, then headed for the main gate with Xiaohuan.
Suddenly, he slowed his steps and glanced downward.
A man stood alone in the broad open space outside the Lu residence, his expression anxious.
He was around forty, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, dressed in a cloth robe, and looked like a martial practitioner.
The man rubbed his hands vigorously, looking imploringly at the elderly gatekeeper.
"...This humble one, Deng Jin, requests an audience with Master Lu!"
The elderly gatekeeper looked thoroughly impatient and was about to drive him away.
Witnessing this, Lu Sui raised his brows slightly and asked Xiaohuan beside him:
"What's going on?"
Xiaohuan scratched her head and said quietly:
"Young Master, that's Master Craftsman Deng from Deng's Shop Weapon-Forging Shop."
"Deng's Shop? A weapon-forging shop?"
Lu Sui's thoughts turned, and he remembered. Wasn't that Deng Yun's father?
"For some reason, the Dacheng Trading Firm cut off the iron supply to Deng's Shop Weapon-Forging Shop. Master Craftsman Deng came to ask about it, but Master has been terribly busy lately. How could he have time to see him?"
Lu Sui's eyes flickered, then he lowered his head with a smile and said nothing more.
To Lu Yulin, Deng Yun's quarrel with his son counted as a squabble among juniors. An adult certainly would not show his face.
As long as Lu Sui had not suffered, he would not deliberately pursue the matter either.
But as the foremost local wielder of blades, guns, and cannons, Master Lu had to give Deng Jin a proper warning and make him understand the importance of disciplining his son.
"The son's fault, the father's burden. Dad really does things properly."
Lu Sui quickly descended the steps and pulled Xiaohuan into the carriage with him.
The curtain dropped, and the whip cracked sharply through the air.
The wheels began to turn, carrying them slowly toward the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School.
Below the steps, Deng Jin saw the character "Lu" embroidered on the carriage curtains and could not help asking:
"Brother, was that your household's Young Master Lu who just left?"
The elderly gatekeeper stood ramrod straight without even lifting his eyelids.
"Indeed, that was our young master. He recently became a registered disciple under Master Tan at the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School. Once he's mastered formidable martial skills, he'll take over from our master!"
"The Hundred Victories Martial Arts School?!"
Deng Jin's eyes suddenly brightened, delight spreading over his square face.
"What a coincidence! What a coincidence! That good-for-nothing son of mine studies at the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School too! He and Young Master Lu are fellow disciples!
"What tremendous fate..."
The elderly gatekeeper sneered.
"Enough, enough! Master Craftsman Deng, stop trying to claim connections!
"You said you couldn't think of anything you'd done to offend the Dacheng Trading Firm, and couldn't understand why your iron supply was cut off..."
The elderly gatekeeper squeezed the money pouch inside his sleeve. In consideration of Deng Jin's payment, he spoke slowly:
"Think about it. If Deng's Shop hasn't made the slightest mistake, who might have slighted the Lu family?"
The smile instantly froze on Deng Jin's face.
"Well..."
"That's all I'll say. Stop waiting here for nothing. Master is a busy man. Why would he concern himself with a weapon-forging shop's business?"
The elderly gatekeeper waved Deng Jin away.
The Hundred Victories Martial Arts School.
Near dusk, Deng Yun stepped through the main gate with a dark expression.
After losing to Lu Sui yesterday, he had been carried to the clinic next door by inner-courtyard disciples and had woken after being fed several doses of medicine.
There was only some bruising across his chest and abdomen, along with a few broken bones.
For a martial practitioner, injuries of this degree were not serious and would improve with a little rest.
But bodily ailments were easy to dispel; sickness of the heart was hard to cure!
Deng Yun entered the outer courtyard and looked at the apprentices chatting and laughing in small groups on the training ground. Inexplicably, he felt they were discussing him.
He even heard clear voices in his mind-
"He's been here so long, yet he couldn't beat a wastrel young master who'd only just registered!"
"What a disgrace to the inner-courtyard disciples!"
"No wonder Senior Sister Bai doesn't think much of him..."
Deng Yun clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.
"Senior Brother Deng, you're late. The inner courtyard's already locked."
The triangular-eyed apprentice, thin as a monkey, approached and said ingratiatingly:
"All the senior brothers and sisters went to the Moon-Gazing Tower for a drinking party."
Deng Yun seemed to wake from a dream and looked the triangular-eyed apprentice over.
"The Moon-Gazing Tower? Is Eldest Senior Brother hosting an entertainment gathering?"
The triangular-eyed apprentice chuckled.
"Senior Brother Lu is treating everyone to celebrate his Qi and Blood linking his hands and feet, and his martial prowess rising another step."
Senior Brother Lu?
Lu Sui!
Deng Yun's expression changed drastically at these words, then fury overtook him. He raised his hand and slapped the triangular-eyed apprentice across the face.
The blow knocked out teeth and left his cheek badly swollen, sending him staggering to the ground.
"You wretch! Having a laugh at my expense, are you?!"
Deng Yun said coldly:
"A mere apprentice dares act impudently in front of me! Let this teach you a lesson. Do it again, and I'll stamp your legs broken!"
With that, he strode away.
Only the utterly bewildered triangular-eyed apprentice remained.
"Senior Brother Wang, you weren't at the school yesterday. You don't know what happened."
The young man called Junior Brother Wei helped the triangular-eyed apprentice up and said quietly:
"During a spar in the inner courtyard, Senior Brother Lu defeated Senior Brother Deng and made him lose face in front of Senior Sister Bai.
"Mentioning Senior Brother Lu now is asking to get on his bad side."
Senior Brother Wang held his face and said indistinctly:
"Pah! He lost to Young Master Lu, so he takes it out on me. Serves him right that Senior Sister Bai never took him seriously!"
"What rotten luck! Slapped for nothing!"
After leaving the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School.
Deng Yun walked down the long street in a daze, not knowing where to go.
Thinking of Junior Sister Bai and all the inner-courtyard disciples exchanging toasts and laughing over wine with Lu Sui, he felt a fire burning inside, scorching his internal organs.
"Just because Lu Sui is Lu Yulin's son, the young master of the Dacheng Trading Firm, everyone fawns over him and tries to please him?!"
Filled with anger and grievance, Deng Yun wandered outside like a drifting ghost.
Suddenly, he heard an enthusiastic greeting:
"Are you Brother Deng Yun from the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School?!"