Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Wind-Cleaving Lv4, Earth Grade Marrow-Cleansing Scripture! Courtesan Li Xiang-jun!

【In the days that followed, you continued in the underground secret chamber, drenched in sweat.】

【On the 27th day, your Wind-Cleaving Blade Art stepped into the 2nd layer.】

【Your arm strength and full-body reflexes both saw a modest improvement.】

【On the 31st day, your Wind-Cleaving Blade Art stepped into the 3rd layer.】

【Combined with the Talent Tag 【Born With Brute Strength】, ordinary martial artists below the 3rd level of the Postnatal Realm stood no chance of getting close to you.】

【On the 40th day, your Wind-Cleaving Blade Art finally reached the 4th layer, achieving perfect mastery.】

【Wind-Cleaving Blade Art Lv4 (500/500)】

【After mastering the Wind-Cleaving Blade Art, it could be summed up in a single word—fast!】

【Your blade work was airtight, so impenetrable that not even water could seep through.】

【Even against a martial artist at the 4th level of the Postnatal Realm, you were confident in cutting them down!】

【Dian Cheng-feng, who had been secretly observing you all along, was utterly stunned.】

【This kind of progress—you were absolutely a blade art prodigy.】

【At the same time, a letter was swiftly dispatched from the Manor toward the Guardian Army at the frontier.】

"He's been frightened off—going to report to the Guardian King?"

Zhao Jin furrowed his brow.

Guardian King Zhao Shi-zhong had been stationed at the Di Nation border for 2 full years.

Even after Zhao Jin had transmigrated half a year ago, he had never once met Zhao Shi-zhong in person.

But he knew.

Zhao Shi-zhong was fiercely loyal to the imperial family.

Even the man's back had the 4 characters "Serve the Nation with Utmost Loyalty" carved into it since childhood.

If not for his loyalty being maxed out, Zhao Shi-zhong would never have been granted a noble title of a different surname, becoming one of Great Qian's pillars.

If his identity as a transmigrator were exposed to Zhao Shi-zhong's eyes—

What reaction the man would have likely still depended on Great Qian's imperial family and their stance toward transmigrators.

What was Great Qian's imperial family's stance toward transmigrators?

That, he didn't know either.

But based on the hints in the group announcement, it was probably nothing friendly.

【After mastering the Wind-Cleaving Blade Art, you began contemplating the road ahead.】

【Since the Talent Tag 【Hard Work Always Bears Fruit】 proved effective—】

【Going forward, you would have to consider taking your first true steps on the path of martial arts.】

【The starting point of the martial path, the Postnatal Realm, required refining essence into energy, completing the full cycle of circulation, and building up one's inner strength.】

【Your current body, due to the Shattered Heart Parasite's toxins, had severe meridian blockages. You couldn't even gather your energy, let alone circulate it.】

【Countless divine physicians had declared: unless you could obtain the legendary Heaven Grade sacred object 【Thousand-Year Crimson Fruit】—capable of transforming one's sinews and cleansing one's marrow—you were destined to remain a cripple for life.】

【The Thousand-Year Crimson Fruit had only appeared once, 200 years ago. Whether it still existed in the world today was a question mark.】

【Apart from the Thousand-Year Crimson Fruit, Elder Zhao had once traveled to Great Qian's Buddhist holy ground, Dragon Elephant Prajna Temple, to obtain a high-tier Earth Grade divine art on your behalf: the 【Marrow-Cleansing Scripture】.】

【As long as you could cultivate it to the 3rd layer—"Meridians Clear as a Dragon"—you could likewise set foot upon the path of cultivation.】

【But the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture had a bug: it utilized a special type of inner energy to transform a person's sinews and cleanse their marrow.】

【In other words, it could only elevate the aptitude of someone already capable of cultivation.】

【For someone like you, who couldn't cultivate at all, the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture was equally powerless.】

【In the past, all you could do was hold the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture and sigh.】

【But now, things were different.】

【With the Talent Tag 【Hard Work Always Bears Fruit】, you could now attempt to cultivate the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture.】

【Just as you were preparing to begin cultivating the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture, Xiao Wei came looking for you, saying that Intoxicating Fragrance House's once-a-year Courtesan Competition was about to begin, and that this kind of good event couldn't be missed.】

【You thought about how hard you had worked all this time training the Wind-Cleaving Blade Art—it was time to relax—so you agreed to go.】

【The Courtesan Competition was the day Intoxicating Fragrance House selected its top performer for the coming year, and was one of Capital City's most popular events.】

【By the time you and Xiao Wei arrived, it was already packed to capacity, with not a single seat to be found.】

【But for you, this was a minor matter.】

【In the front rows, you randomly selected some unlucky soul and seized his seat.】

【Xiao Wei stared blankly: What about me?】

【You shot him a sideways glance. Seats were obviously for seizing yourself—was that something he needed help with?】

【Xiao Wei was at a loss for words.】

【Everyone here was from aristocratic families—who was he supposed to rob?】

【Xiao Wei said he'd pay you 10,000 taels of silver—could you help him out?】

【You said no—he'd have to add more!】

【Only when Xiao Wei raised the offer to 30,000 taels of silver did you agree.】

【Right after, you kicked out Fang Lian-hu, son of the Cavalry Grand General, who had been seated beside you.】

【He glared at you furiously, but there was nothing he could do—he could only slink away dejectedly.】

【Xiao Wei took a seat, casting you a grateful look.】

【When it came to domineering arrogance, you were still the one!】

【Half an hour later, the Courtesan Competition officially began.】

【The courtesans Intoxicating Fragrance House had groomed for years began to take the stage one by one, displaying their skills in lute, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song.】

【As for who would win the Courtesan Competition, it all came down to who received the most "tributes."】

【Xiao Wei, thrilled, had already lavishly thrown out tens of thousands of taels of silver—but you didn't spend a single coin.】

【Xiao Wei was deeply puzzled. You were the Guardian King's only grandson; money should be nothing more than a number to you.】

【Without giving "tributes," there'd be no chance for a tryst with the winning courtesan.】

【You smiled but said nothing.】

【You had already set your eyes on a beauty—but there was no need to rush.】

【As time flowed on and the Courtesan Competition neared its end, you suddenly made a lavish throw of 200,000 taels of silver, boosting Li Xiang-jun—who was in 2nd place—to the top to claim the title of Courtesan.】

【Since you were the one who had gifted Li Xiang-jun the most, you became the honored guest for her very first appointment.】

【After your tryst, you felt refreshed and invigorated.】

【Just before you left, Li Xiang-jun specially presented you with a sachet as a parting gift.】

【Xiao Wei and his band of rowdy companions had been listening outside the door the entire night. Every single one of them was sporting dark circles under their eyes—and each gave you a thumbs-up.】

【A whole night, full of energy and vigor—what the hell, that was way too impressive.】

【You let out a hearty laugh and returned to Guardian King's Manor.】

【At this point, a guard came to report that the matter involving the young boy from before had been properly resolved.】

【That young boy was named Ding Xiao-jiu, a Capital City native who had indeed been abducted and sold.】

【But being so young, he had no idea where his home was—only that his parents ran a steamed bun stall.】

【Great Qian's Capital City had a population of 3,000,000 and occupied a vast area.】

【Using that clue, Guardian King's Manor spent over 10 days tracking down Ding Xiao-jiu's home on Clear Spring Street and sending him back.】

【His family, wishing to express their gratitude, specially sent 100 taels of silver and a basket of steamed buns.】

【You nodded.】

【You were kind-hearted by nature, and besides, you had already plundered a divine Talent Tag from Ding Xiao-jiu—doing a good deed was only right.】

【You kept the silver and distributed the steamed buns for the guards to eat.】

【Ever since learning you were poisoned, you hadn't dared eat things carelessly.】

【These days, everything you ate was dried meat you personally bought from outside.】

【After that, you began bitter cultivation of the 【Marrow-Cleansing Scripture】 in the underground secret chamber.】

【The Marrow-Cleansing Scripture was a high-tier Earth Grade technique, extraordinarily profound and complex.】

【Even with Dian Cheng-feng—a Mystic Core Realm Martial Venerate—guiding you, it still took you a full half a month to grasp the initial essentials of the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture's 1st layer.】