Chapter 153: The Possibility of Practicing the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword (1/2)
Chapter 153: The Possibility of Practicing the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
It had been three days since Junior Leopard got out of the underground practice field.
The sight of him coming out the door bloodied and exhausted startled Wang Tianlei. Junior Leopard merely said something went wrong with his practice, though that was now solved. He only needed rest now. It was what Wang Tianlei had been expecting, so he told the servants to heat up bathwater for Junior Leopard and prepare fresh clothes for him.
Junior Leopard finally calmed his nerves after washing up. He had benefited greatly from his three-day experience in the underground practice field, but he was also more depressed because of it.
”Had I known I would make such gains, I'd have gone straight to Misty Mountain!”
If he had gone to Misty Mountain earlier, he would not have had to make a second visit. Once he returned, he could straightaway enter the underground fire vein to practice the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword.
His body could not withstand the extreme cold Evil Qi in West Mountain Pass, but was it possible if he used External Elixirs to melt the extreme cold Evil Qi into the Fiery Eye between his eyebrows?
”I'll try it on the underground fire vein first. If it works, I'll find a way back to Misty Mountain to practice the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword!” Junior Leopard mentally decided.
Having washed up, he examined his forehead carefully in the bronze mirror. In the point where the Fiery Eye entered his body, there was a faint red mark. It was not visible if not carefully looked at. This relieved him greatly. Though he had an additional eye now, he was fine with it as long as others did not know. But it would be troublesome if people begin to notice because he was not the kind of person who fancied inviting trouble.
His freshly washed hair was wet and scattered, but it dried almost immediately when he used the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique. He was about to knot his hair into his usual bun atop his head, but looking at the red mark between his eyebrows, a wicked idea came to him. He gathered his hair into the hairstyle of the first appearance of Chrollo, the head of the Phantom Troupe in the comic HUNTER×HUNTER which Junior Leopard had read in his previous life. When he looked in the mirror again, he felt a sudden shame. The hairstyle had seemed pretty cool in the comics, but it was mere slicked-back hair. Though he was clean-cut, the hairstyle was too old-fashioned for him. Junior Leopard roughed up his hair, cut it short, and fashioned it to mimic the head's easy high school student hairstyle. The outcome satisfied him.
”That's more like it. I'm now at the age of high school students. Should I also tie a piece of white cloth over my forehead to cover the red mark to avoid suspicion?” Junior Leopard thought with his head tilted. ”Forget it! It might get in my way. Besides, it's just a red mark. People would think it's a birthmark. Who would pay attention to it? When I go running around with two hammers in the future, it'd interfere with my actions!”
No matter how he imagined a high school student with a pure, handsome appearance carrying a pair of hammers to smash people everywhere, he found it a little strange.
But there was no other way. If he looked strange, then so be it. Besides, he depended not on his face but his strength to survive.
After adding final touches, he opened his door and found Wang Tianlei was waiting outside. Seeing Junior Leopard's new hairstyle, Wang Tianlei was dumbfounded before he burst out into laughter. ”Junior Leopard, you look handsome like this. You should consider your sister's suggestion to marry someone!”
”Brother-in-law, you don't have the talent to be a lobbyist!” Junior Leopard laughed, coming out of his room. ”Did you hear any news?”
”There's a lot. Rumors are going all around, but there's some information that I can affirm. The Chief of Tian Long Taoism, Wang She's cultivation has reached Level Nine. He has also kidnaped White Blademaster Lu Shaoyou's wife and killed the Golden Lights Cave disciple, the new deacon of Mingyi School, Gao Yulou!”
”Gao Yulou? Wang She killed Gao Yulou?”
”The Mingyi School has confirmed his death. I heard it wasn't Wang She who killed him, but a mysterious figure named Xiao. But since he belonged to Wang She's bride-kidnapping entourage, the blame naturally fell onto Wang She. The Mingyi School and the Tian Long Mystic Mountain are now at loggerheads, the former wanting an explanation from the latter. The Golden Lights Cave has also responded to the incident. A large number of their disciples are now devoted to the Mingyi School, greatly enhancing their strength!”
”What's the use of going against Wang She? He's now a Level Nine expert. Whether it's position or strength-wise, the White Blademaster Lu Shaoyou and Gao Yulou are not his matches. Do you think the Mingyi School would really start a war against the Tian Long Mystic Mountain for Gao Yulou when their rival has a Level Nine expert?”
”It's not just a matter of Lu Shaoyou!” Wang Tianlei smirked. ”Don't forget that it's the people from the Tian Long Mystic Mountain that snatched Lu Shaoyou's wife away in the full view of other people!”
”So what? For Lu Shaoyou to have his wife kidnapped, it can only show his uselessness! It's one thing if Wang She didn't enter Level Nine, but now that he's one, the Mingyi School would just disgrace themselves if they use this incident to fight the Tian Long Mystic Mountain. Besides, Ma Linglong was kidnaped before their wedding was completed, so she technically isn't Lu Shaoyou's wife yet. The one who should really respond is the Governor Mansion of Yunzhou, Governor Ma!”
”This is also the weirdest thing about the whole incident. If we go by Governor Ma's temper, he would have long harassed Wang She and the Tian Long Taoism about it. But he didn't do anything! That's completely out of everyone's expectations!” Wang Tianlei was once a soldier in Yunzhou, so he had a lot of admiration for Ma Tianchang.
”Hehe. Inaction is the best kind of action. Perhaps Governor Ma is making clear of his stance to someone!” Junior Leopard sneered. He was not clear about the relationship between Ma Tianchang and the imperial court, but while participating in the bride-kidnapping, he learned something from Wang She's words. Considering Ma Tianchang's status in Yunzhou as well as the anomalies in this marriage, he had quite a good guess of everything that was going on.
”Governor Ma is making clear of his stance to someone? What does that mean?” His words aroused Wang Tianlei's curiosity, but he did not want to explain himself.
”Brother-in-law, it's not something we can poke our nose into. Let's just focus on our business in this city and ignore other things!”
”Right, right. We should not poke our nose into these things!” Wang Tianlei nodded repeatedly.
...
...
Junior Leopard was a man of asset and he was confident about this. The truth was, he really did own many assets, whether it was the cultivation method of martial arts skills he knew or his heaven-sent bloodline. These assets, with the addition of time, were enough to help him reach the peak of this world.
But then again, he had plenty of assets, but not much time. He was now 14 to 15 years old. Even if he had many assets, he could not make the most out of them. Sometimes, he even had to come up with ways to hide his assets in case men more powerful than him would covet what he had and killed him mercilessly. That had always been the way Junior Leopard did things. Before taking a step, he would cautiously examine the three steps ahead. Sometimes, he would take one step forward, only to go two steps backward. This was the only way for him to keep himself and his family safe.
From reading between the lines of Snake King's words, as well as witnessing the string of consequences of the union of Ma Family and Lu Family, he came to understand the relationship between the Governor Mansion of Yunzhou and the whole Jin. But that was just mere understanding. He was not stupid enough to get involved. That was neither his field nor expertise. He would definitely not do this insane and obviously troublesome thing.
Now that he had gained his fame and received his benefits, the best thing to do was for him to keep a low-profile in Zhonghejun City and slowly digest his benefits. The key was to turn these benefits into his own, let them become part of his accumulation, and build up his strength step by step.
Snake King had told him the world will be thrown into chaos. Though he could not see any impending signs of that yet, it was never wrong to empower himself.
...
...
After changing his hairstyle and leaving his yard, Junior Leopard first visited his sister, Hua-er, and endured a round of her nagging. He then went to the Admiral Manor to cancel his leave, but he was stopped at the door by a couple of gossipy personal guards. They forced him to drink, prodding him to tell them what happened. After all, they were far away in Zhonghejun City and only heard rumors. First, those rumors may not be true. Second, it was not satisfying enough. Rumors were nowhere near as credible as Junior Leopard who was actually at the scene at that time.
Junior Leopard was helpless when he heard their questions. He was, in fact, there and was involved, but he could not possibly tell them that. With a bitter smile, he had to explain that he was not entitled to attend the banquet in Lu Mansion. He himself only heard rumors, but those came from first-hand sources, so they ought to be more credible than theirs.
”What did you say? Lu Shaoyou didn't make a move at all? Didn't they say he fought Wang She with his sword for dozens of rounds before getting defeated in the end?”
”Wang She didn't fight either? I heard he collapsed half of Lu Mansion!”
”Rumors had it that Wang She and Miss Ma have been in love for a long time. Now that Lu Shaoyou was going to snatch Miss Ma, of course, Wang She would be angered. Don't forget he fought Lu Shaoyou earlier when Lu Shaoyou went to ask for Miss Ma's hand in marriage. Who knew he's a Level Nine expert? This Lu Shaoyou is just bloody unlucky!”
”...”