Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

Two days later, around noon, the silhouette of a city appeared at the end of the official road.

The city walls, built from bluestone, were tall and thick. A ceaseless stream of carriages, horses, and people flowed through the city gate. Above the gate, the large characters spelling "Qinghe City" were clearly visible, weathered by wind and rain.

Fang Han followed the stream of people into the city.

The streets were wide and lined with shops. The cries of peddlers and the clamor of carriages and horses mingled in the air. While not as bustling as Qingxuan City, it was far more prosperous than Liangshui City, showing a vibrant scene of life.

Feeling a bit hungry, he found a streetside food stall, ordered a bowl of noodles, and chatted with the owner as he ate.

"Sir, may I ask where the Chu Mansion is?"

"The Chu Family? Oh, that’s easy to find. Just follow this main street east. The most magnificent estate at the very end is theirs."

The stall owner, an old man with grizzled hair, looked up at Fang Han and replied.

A customer at a nearby table chimed in:

"The Chu Family is really something else these days. Just a few years ago, they were a minor household. Who would’ve thought they’d produce a True Disciple of the Qingxuan Sect? They shot up in status overnight. Now they’re one of the top families in the city."

"That’s right. Young Master Chu Feng entered the Qingxuan Sect and became a True Inheritor. The whole Chu Family rose to prominence with him."

Another person agreed, their tone laced with envy and jealousy.

It turned out that just a few years ago, the Chu Family was an inconspicuous and weak minor family in Qinghe City.

But ever since Chu Feng became a True Disciple, the Chu Family had used his influence to rise rapidly. In just a few short years, they had become one of the most prominent families in Qinghe City.

Following the directions he’d received, Fang Han arrived before the Chu Mansion.

The vermilion-lacquered main gate was extraordinarily grand. Two majestic stone lions stood guard in front, flanked by several guards with sharp, intense gazes, exuding the air of a great family.

Fang Han stepped forward, presented his Qingxuan Sect Disciple’s Identity Jade Token, and stated his purpose.

After a guard inspected the token, he led Fang Han inside.

Passing through several courtyards, Fang Han was shown into a spacious and luxuriously decorated reception hall, its floor covered with a soft carpet.

A Maid served fragrant tea and then stood respectfully to the side.

Fang Han sat quietly and waited.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a middle-aged man walked in, accompanied by a steward. The man was dressed in a brocade robe, with a plump face and eyes that held a mixture of reserved pride and arrogance.

This was the Patriarch of the Chu Family, Chu Yunshan.

"Has Feng’er sent something back?"

Chu Yunshan sat in the host’s seat, his gaze falling upon Fang Han. His tone was flat, carrying a condescending, scrutinizing air, as if he were addressing a subordinate reporting a task.

Fang Han was slightly taken aback. ’This Chu Yunshan’s attitude is exactly like Chu Feng’s. Like father, like son, indeed.’

Maintaining a neutral expression, he stood up and presented the flat object, tightly wrapped in oilcloth, and the wax-sealed letter with both hands.

"Patriarch Chu, this is the item entrusted by Chu Feng’s True Inheritance. Please inspect it."

Chu Yunshan did not take it himself, merely nodding slightly at the steward beside him.

The steward stepped forward and took the letter and the object. He carefully inspected the letter’s wax seal and the seals on the wrapped object. After confirming everything was in order, he spoke softly to Chu Yunshan.

"Patriarch, they are intact."

Only then did Chu Yunshan grunt in acknowledgement. He waved his hand, signaling the steward to put the items away.

He looked at Fang Han again, his gaze still devoid of warmth, as if Fang Han had completed the most mundane of tasks. He couldn’t even be bothered to offer a perfunctory "Thank you for your trouble."

"Since the task is complete, I will take my leave."

Disgusted by the man’s attitude, Fang Han didn’t want to stay a moment longer. He clasped his hands in a farewell gesture and prepared to leave.

’A minor family that had to curry favor to survive just a few years ago has become this arrogant just because they produced a True Inheritor. They treat even an Official Disciple of the Qingxuan Sect like a servant of their Chu Family. Their attitude is truly sickening.’

However, just as Fang Han turned to leave, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the hall.

Immediately after, a young man dressed in silk—but with a bruised face and disheveled hair—ran in crying and collapsed before Chu Yunshan.

"Father! Father! You have to stand up for me! That bastard Liu Mang from the Liu Family beat me up in the middle of the street!"

Seeing this, Chu Yunshan’s expression instantly darkened. He snapped, "What are you panicking for? Have you no decorum? Speak slowly. What exactly happened?"

The young man, evidently Chu Yunshan’s son, wailed with tears and snot streaming down his face:

"I just teased the woman next to him a little on the street, and Liu Mang surrounded me with his men and started hitting me without a word... He also said... he said our Chu Family only dares to be arrogant in Qinghe City because we’re riding on Big Brother’s coattails!"

"Bastard!" Chu Yunshan flew into a rage, slamming his palm on the tea table beside him, causing the teacups to clatter.

’This Liu Family brat dares to beat my son on the street and run his mouth? This is a blatant provocation!’

In his fury, Chu Yunshan’s gaze swept across the room and happened to land on Fang Han, who was about to leave.

A glint flashed in his eyes as if he had an idea. He immediately adopted a commanding tone and said to Fang Han, "You, don’t leave yet!"

Fang Han paused, turned around, and looked calmly at Chu Yunshan, having already guessed what the man wanted.

As expected, Chu Yunshan spoke in a tone that brooked no argument:

"You were sent by my Feng’er and you’re wearing the Qingxuan Sect’s robes. Go to the Liu Family residence now and make your identity known."

"Intimidate that ignorant Liu Family for my Chu Family. Let them know that we are not to be trifled with!"

He spoke as if Fang Han were a soldier under Chu Feng’s command, duty-bound to solve the Chu Family’s problems.

Fang Han was so angry he almost laughed.

’This Chu Yunshan really knows how to take advantage of a situation. I just accepted a delivery mission, a simple transaction. And now he actually thinks of me as his Chu Family’s private muscle?’

He, Fang Han, was an Official Disciple of the Qingxuan Sect, not a house slave of the Chu Family!

The last trace of a polite smile vanished from Fang Han’s face. He met Chu Yunshan’s self-important gaze and replied in a clear, cold voice.

"Patriarch Chu, I was only tasked with delivering an item. That task is complete. As for the private dispute between your esteemed household and the Liu Family, please forgive me for not getting involved. Farewell."

With that, he didn’t linger for a moment longer. He turned and strode briskly out of the hall.

Without the slightest hesitation.

"You...!"

Chu Yunshan never expected Fang Han to refuse so decisively and with such a firm attitude. For a moment, he was stunned speechless.

By the time he came to his senses, Fang Han’s figure had already disappeared into the corridor outside the hall entrance.

Chu Yunshan’s face turned ashen with rage. He pointed in the direction Fang Han had left and roared at the steward beside him.

"Arrogant! A mere common disciple dares to defy my wishes! How outrageous! I’m going to write to Feng’er and let him know what an ungrateful wretch he sent!"

Fang Han faintly heard the roaring behind him, but he didn’t slow his pace. Instead, a faint, mocking smile touched his lips.

’Report me?’

’Go ahead and report me.’

’Chu Feng may be a True Inheritor with a respected status, but at the end of the day, he’s not an Elder of the Qingxuan Sect yet. He has no authority to directly punish an Official Disciple.’

’Besides, my actions on this trip have been completely in line with the Sect’s rules. I’ve done nothing wrong.’

As for potentially offending Chu Feng, Fang Han wasn’t particularly concerned.

’On the path of the Martial Dao, strength is what ultimately matters.’

’It’s true that Chu Feng is a True Inheritor now, but with a heaven-defying aid like my system panel, my future achievements will certainly not be less than his.’

’Rather than groveling to please an arrogant True Inheritor, I’d rather focus my energy on improving my own strength.’

’Strength is the foundation for establishing oneself in the Qingxuan Sect and in this Martial Arts World.’

After leaving the Chu Mansion, Fang Han found a clean and tidy-looking inn in Qinghe City to stay for the night, resting well and washing away the dust from his journey.

The next morning, he checked out, left Qinghe City, and began his journey back to the Qingxuan Sect.

The Qingxuan Sect Disciple’s Robe he wore was an invisible Protective Talisman.

Along the way, whether it was passing merchant caravans or the occasional Jianghu Travelers he encountered, their gazes held awe and apprehension upon seeing his attire. No one dared to provoke him.

Fang Han enjoyed the peace and quiet. He used the Startled Swan Step, traveling at a steady pace. As he journeyed, he reviewed and deduced the various profound Transformations of the Wind-Splitting Swordsmanship in his mind.

Two days later, he safely reached the edge of the Qingxuan Sect’s territory and saw the majestic silhouette of Qingxuan Mountain in the distance.

He didn’t return directly to the Sect but first detoured into Qingxuan City at the foot of the mountain.

After entering the city, he first found a mail service with a decent reputation, paid the necessary silver coins, and handed two pre-written letters to a clerk.

One letter was for his parents, Fang Zheng and Lin Wan. It was mainly to let them know he was safe, briefly describing his life in the Sect so they wouldn’t worry, and reminding his little sister, Fang Ying, to be obedient.

The other letter was for the Patriarch, Fang Lingyuan.

In this letter, he mentioned that Lin Yaotian had bribed Zhao Qianjun to act against him, warning the family to be wary of the Lin Family.

With this matter taken care of, Fang Han felt a little more at ease.

Afterward, he found a large-scale Money Shop and went inside.

He exchanged the 13,000 taels in silver notes he had taken from Zhao Qianjun into gold.

He received a total of 130 taels of gold in ten-tael ingots, which he placed in a heavy wooden box.

He did this because he had a theory about the "recharge" mechanism of his system panel.

Silver notes were merely certificates that circulated based on the credit of a Money Shop; their actual physical value was just that of a special piece of paper.

If he tried to recharge directly with silver notes, he was worried the system would only recognize the "wealth" as the value of the paper itself, not the huge amount of silver it represented.

Although this was just a guess, and the system might recognize the value of the silver notes, he didn’t dare to risk it.

After all, the denominations of these silver notes were huge, with the smallest being one thousand taels per note. If his theory proved correct and the recharge failed, the loss would be too great for him to bear at his current stage.

To be safe, exchanging them for gold was the most secure option.

Gold was a hard currency with extremely high intrinsic value; there was no way the system could get it wrong.

Having done all this, Fang Han finally left Qingxuan City and headed toward the cloud-shrouded mountain gate of the Qingxuan Sect.