Mortal Saint

Lin Residence, Ancestral Hall.

On this day, the autumn wind was chilling, and the atmosphere was grim.

Lin Du clutched his fox-fur coat tightly as he stepped inside alone. He had been summoned by his father and felt a sense of unease.

Ever since Steward Lin’s death and Ji Xiu’s dramatic exit from Feiyan Tower, Lin Du had been on edge for days.

But at the same time, a part of him clung to a sliver of hope.

’If that lowly Groom didn’t figure any of it out, then maybe...’

He had just stepped inside, harboring such thoughts.

Suddenly, a staff struck from the side, startling him. He tensed his muscles, intending to fight back, but...

WHACK!

It was just one strike.

Lin Du’s body went limp like a pile of mud, and he was knocked straight to the ground.

Instructor Du, his face stern, retracted the staff. He grabbed Lin Du by his fur cloak and dragged him like a dead dog before the ancestral tablets, which flickered in the dim candlelight. He bowed.

"Boss, the man has been captured."

With that, his face tense, he glanced at Lin Zhenhai, who had his back turned, Lin Ruxue, whose hand rested on her longsword, and Lin Ruyue, who wore a pained expression. Without another word, he retreated.

Now that things had come to this...

...it was no longer a matter an "outsider" like him could meddle in.

The great doors of the ancestral hall swung shut.

Lin Du was dazed from the blow. He felt his muscles go slack, and he couldn’t even muster the strength to crawl.

"Father... I..."

Lin Zhenhai lit three sticks of incense and placed them in the censer. Watching the smoke curl upward, he sighed.

"Alas, what a disgrace to the family."

Lin Du’s heart sank.

The next moment, his nominal elder sister, Lin Ruxue, stepped forward in her moon-white boots. With a SWISH, she drew her sword, her gaze icy.

"If you had just behaved yourself, I would have never even paid attention to your existence."

"But since you are so scheming and manipulative..."

The slender longsword, as fine as autumn waters, was about to pierce the space between Lin Du’s wide-open eyes.

Suddenly, Lin Zhenhai reached out a hand, his brow furrowed.

"He is, after all, your ’brother’ in name. For you to kill him with your own hands..."

Lin Ruxue’s gaze remained cold.

"If I don’t kill him and pull out the weeds by the roots, should I just leave him around to settle scores later?"

Lin Zhenhai shook his head.

"I brought him here today to expel him from the family registry, strip him of his name, and banish him from Anning County. He will no longer be a young master of the Lin Residence and can never return."

"Isn’t that enough?"

"He’s just a Martial Artist at the Bone Marrow Refining Realm. Without the Lin Residence, without the Bone Tempering Technique, he’ll struggle his entire life and never amount to anything."

"Ruxue, he poses no threat..."

Lin Du finally realized what was happening.

But he didn’t try to defend himself. He knew it would be useless.

Lin Du’s eyes widened, filling with tears of terror. He kowtowed again and again, looking at Lin Zhenhai with a pleading gaze...

At the side, Lin Ruyue was startled by the tense scene. She tugged on Lin Ruxue’s sleeve, unable to bear it.

"Sister..."

Looking at her little sister clutching her sleeve—so well-protected that even in her early twenties she had never witnessed such ugliness—Lin Ruxue paused.

"With a temperament like yours, if I weren’t here to protect you, someone would have devoured you, bones and all, and you wouldn’t even know it."

After saying this, Lin Ruxue turned to Lin Zhenhai.

"Father, half of the Lin Residence’s starting fortune came from my mother’s dowry."

"If I hadn’t succeeded in my martial arts training, would you have given half of this fortune to this bastard?"

Her voice was laced with disgust.

"I trained bitterly for nine years to ensure a carefree life for my little sister. Why should I let him go just because he harbored malicious intent?"

Lin Ruxue’s eyes were indifferent. She watched the incessantly begging Lin Du and took two steps forward, causing Lin Zhenhai’s expression to change slightly.

"You..."

PSHHT!

CRACK!

The slender longsword severed the major tendons in one of his arms and legs. Showing no mercy, Lin Ruxue delivered a kick with her small foot that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand pounds, directly snapping Lin Du’s thigh bone!

He let out a wail and immediately fainted from the pain!

"Father wanted to spare his life. Fine."

"I’ve crippled his major tendons and broken an arm and a leg. From now on, his name will be struck from the Lin Residence’s records. Let him fend for himself and fight with wild dogs for scraps."

"Is that enough?"

A slight smile curved the woman’s lips, a faint grin on her delicate face that sent a chill down Lin Zhenhai’s spine.

"What in the world have you been cultivating at the ’Little Five Decline Sword Sect’ these past few years? How has your temperament become so...?"

Lin Ruxue lifted her elegant neck, meeting his gaze head-on. Her skin seemed to glow with a faint, starlike radiance. This finally jolted Lin Zhenhai back to his senses.

The person before him was not just his daughter.

At the same time...

...she was also a master who had achieved Great Success in Bone Tempering!

Moreover, her progress in ’Skin Refining’ seemed to surpass his own. Not only that, but her ’Skin Tempering’ technique was far more refined and superior!

"The environment in Jiangyin Prefecture is much harsher than in ’Anning County’."

"Leaving him with his pathetic life was already giving you face."

"Otherwise..."

"Do you think he would still be alive?"

Lin Ruxue sneered, as if kicking a dog.

"I heard that you intended to choose a husband for my little sister, Father."

"A few days ago, I happened to see a Sword-carrying Guest from the Fire Kiln Lu Manor."

"He was formerly a Groom here at the Lin Residence."

"From what I’ve seen of him... he is no ordinary man."

"If he could be wed to my little sister, he would surely be able to protect her and ensure the family’s continued prosperity."

"His temperament is decent and his features are handsome. Though he is still young, that is actually an advantage, proving he has a greater future ahead of him."

"Your previous attempt to take him as an Adopted Son was rather half-hearted. It would be better to make a new offer and recruit him as a son-in-law of the Lin family..."

As Lin Ruxue spoke, Lin Ruyue fiddled with her sleeves. She couldn’t help but recall Ji Xiu from that day, who had seemed like a completely different person, and her cheeks flushed red.

But Lin Zhenhai glanced at Lin Du on the floor, his face grim.

Hearing this, he gave his eldest daughter a deep look.

"This time, I’m afraid your calculations are going to be wrong."

Lin Ruxue frowned, but before she could speak, Lin Zhenhai continued slowly.

"Just a short while ago."

"A new, officially registered ’Qi Cultivation Grandmaster’ has emerged in Jiangyin Prefecture."

"This person originated from Anning forty years ago, then went to Jiangyin Prefecture to widely accept disciples, teaching them martial arts and boxing. Among them..."

"Lu Chengfeng of the Fire Kiln, the master of Xuu Manor in the Chai Market, and Wei Dinchang of the Cattle and Sheep Market—the bosses of the Three Major Professions that control the five-hundred-li Anning County—all once studied under him and received his True Inheritance."

"I hear he is going to ’found a Sect’."

Lin Ruxue’s clear eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Impossible."

"To found a Sect, one Qi Cultivation Grandmaster is not enough!"

"Without one’s own ’Secret Inheritance’... even if they succeed, they would be easily crushed by an Outer Dao. The province and prefecture would never approve such a case!"

Lin Zhenhai sighed.

"Jiangyin Prefecture, of course not."

"But..."

"What about ’Anning County’?"

"I’ve heard that he has already sent a ’representative’ to consolidate the Three Major Professions, with the intention of..."

"...creating a ’Sect’ within the county, one that would stand above the Three Great Gangs and the Four Great Halls!"

"That boy has caught Lu Chengfeng’s eye. And Lu Chengfeng might be one of the three leaders of this new power in the future, so he’ll definitely give him a boost."

"Tell me, how can I possibly compete with him for the boy?"

The woman in the moon-white dress held her sword, her brow deeply furrowed.

’A Qi Cultivation Grandmaster... coming to this five-hundred-li Anning County to establish a foundation?’

’Does this person have so little ambition? Instead of seeking a ’Secret Inheritance’ for his school, he comes here to live out his retirement?’

...

Fire Kiln, Lu Manor.

Hong Jiang, bored out of his mind, listlessly drove the carriage. He leaned back, glancing over at Zheng Jun, who was staring eagerly at the blue-brick house. He spoke, exasperated.

"What’s the point of running over here every day to suck up?"

"The Pills are made in the Medicine House, and Brother Ji usually practices his techniques at home. You still run over here. Aren’t you being a nuisance?"

Zheng Jun hugged his arms, shivering from the cold so much his teeth chattered. Hearing this, he looked at the tall and burly Hong Jiang, who was content to be a mere Groom, and retorted sarcastically.

"You’re a Martial Artist, aren’t you?"

"We’re both just trying to get some benefits from Lord Ji. What makes you so much better than me!"

As he said this, a look of longing appeared in his eyes.

"You just don’t get it. When Lord Ji first came to the Medicine House, he blew up all three cauldrons on the first day, making the Pharmacist’s face turn black. On the third day, he only blew up one of three, and Elder Huang’s expression softened as he said it was not bad. By the fifth day, the seventh day..."

"After that, he produced Pills from almost every batch! His attainments in the Alchemy Skill are something I’ve never seen in my life. Even Pharmacist Huang can’t compare to him!"

"I run over here every day now to be his assistant, asking if he’s warm or cold. If he’s in a good mood one day and a bit of insight leaks from between his fingers, it might be enough to make me a real ’Pill Master’!"

’I’ve endured nine years of servitude.’

’There’s no reason I can’t swallow my pride to run errands for a genius Pill Master!’

"Hmph!"

Hearing Zheng Jun’s endless praise, Hong Jiang’s expression softened a little.

He couldn’t help but look toward the courtyard.

’A Pill Master...’

’Achieved Blood Nourishing Perfection in just one month and also mastered the Alchemy Skill... For a person like that, I feel like I’m the one profiting by leading his horse and holding his stirrups.’

’If he makes it big in the future, even a doorman at the Prime Minister’s gate is a seventh-grade official!’

Muttering to himself, Hong Jiang, who now waited outside the courtyard all day unless he had a mission, suddenly slapped himself and cursed.

"Damn it, how did I get addicted to being a Groom..."

"Pathetic!"

The two of them continued to wait eagerly.

Suddenly, a woman in a yellow, tight-fitting outfit with her hair in a ponytail came running toward them, looking heroic and valiant.

It was the young lady of Lu Manor, Lu Hongyu!

...

[Mortal: Ninth Grade Alchemy Skill: (30/30)]

[Thirty cauldrons opened, peak has been reached!]

[Trait: Calm Mind and Concentration]

[When the Tutor is focused, such as during alchemy research, all distracting thoughts can be cast aside, increasing efficiency by thirty percent!]

Ji Xiu swallowed a Leopard Embryo Pill and held his standing meditation posture for a full double-hour, then exhaled a puff of white air.

He felt that he could advance no further. His blood was as heavy as mercury and lead, as if it weighed hundreds of pounds.

His eyes shone brightly, and excitement began to build within him.

"And now, after ten whole days of studying Ninth Grade Alchemy Skill to its absolute limit, I have finally paid back the cost of the advance."

"And what’s more..."

"What’s even more terrifying is that when others achieve Great Success Alchemy Skill, they only have a seventy percent chance of successfully refining Ninth-grade Pills. But with my Trait..."

"...it’s nearly one hundred percent!"

He recalled how, two days ago, Huang Xuan had looked at him as if he were a Celestial Human when he saw his guaranteed success in alchemy. Since then, Huang Xuan had given him a Ninth-Grade Pill like the Leopard Embryo Pill every day, one that could temper the blood.

Finally, this had allowed him to completely master the Blood-Nourishing Barrier!

He could now advance to ’Muscle Forging’!

"Soaring Serpent Cloud-Chasing Technique..."

’If I master this and show it to Master Duan.’

’He would probably be completely stunned, right?’

Ji Xiu was just about to make another advance and study it before heading to the Medicine House...

...when Lu Hongyu suddenly appeared at his door.

"Ji Xiu, don’t go to the ’Medicine House’ today."

"At Lu Manor..."

"Something big is happening!"

"That number ’36’ Iron Token my father gave you when he chose you as a ’Sword-carrying Guest’—did you keep it safe?"