"Practicing martial arts?"
Lu Quanan frowned.
"Why did you start practicing martial arts again?" He was about to reprimand him, but immediately thought of the other young masters who went out to seek pleasure. In comparison, this child Lu Sheng's actions were much more motivated.
The words of reprimand were on the tip of his tongue, but he sighed.
"It's better to learn martial arts from your Uncle Zhao. Don't practice blindly by yourself. It's easy to get into trouble."
He shook his head and turned to walk out the door. Halfway there, he paused.
"At the pharmacy, if you need any herbs, just ask for them. I'll give you a monthly allowance of two thousand taels."
With that, he strode away.
Second Mother Liu Cuiyu gently wiped Lu Sheng's sweat with a towel.
"Your father is too softhearted."
She heaved a long sigh.
"Old Master Xu and him are sworn brothers. Now that something like this has happened, he's very sad. It's a good thing that you're practicing martial arts, but other people start cultivating their foundations from a young age. At this age, it's still a little too late … "
She rambled on, but Lu Sheng didn't hear all of it.
His attention was focused on his newly acquired Black Tiger Saber Technique.
"How miraculous …"
Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly. On the surface, he seemed to be listening to Second Mother, but in reality, he was sensing the condition of his body.
He flexed the muscles in his arms.
"The muscles in my hands are still the same, but that sense of familiarity, as if I've practiced saber techniques for many years, it's simply …"
He tried again, flexing the muscles in his legs.
It was obvious that the muscles in his legs could exert strength more easily than before.
He could clearly feel his strength rapidly flowing up from his feet, all the way to his waist, and then to his arms.
The Black Tiger Saber Technique had described the flow of strength in great detail.
This was called Strength Proficiency.
"According to what the saber technique says … Most martial artists have a set of methods to mobilize most of the strength in their bodies. Those who can mobilize fifty percent of their strength are already considered experts. Those who can mobilize eighty percent of their strength can enter the so-called Strength Proficiency realm. "
Lu Sheng weighed in his heart. According to some of the original memories of this body, he had once heard Uncle Zhao and a few other martial arts masters talking about this.
The Strength Proficiency realm was pretty much one of the best in Nine Links City.
To be able to combine one's strength and strike out at the same time, even an ordinary person would be able to display a terrifying strength and speed that far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
"Uncle Zhao, it's the Strength Proficiency realm …"
Lu Sheng sighed inwardly. The effects of the Modifier had not been reduced in the slightest, which made him feel relieved.
"It's a pity that the Modifier seems to consume a combination of essence, qi, and spirit. It's just an ordinary saber art, and it's not one of those legendary skills that have inner force and inner Qi, but it almost made me lose both my Qi and blood, and I'm now bedridden … "
Lu Sheng vaguely understood the nature of the Modifier.
This thing seemed to be an adjuster that could engrave experiences, memories, instincts, and martial arts into the body.
However, this kind of adjustment required energy, and what it consumed was his essence, qi, and spirit.
Moreover, adjusting the body's memory was not something that could be done overnight.
"The body is like a pile of materials. The Modifier should be using these materials to build a new foundation on top of the original one. It can't just change the strength of muscles and bones out of thin air. "
This was Lu Sheng's conjecture.
Over the next few days, the changes to his body confirmed his conjecture.
From the first day onwards, his body slowly recovered. At the same time, firm muscles grew on his arms, legs, chest, and back.
Moreover, Lu Sheng could clearly feel that the pain in his body had become numb. A thick layer of keratin gradually grew on the skin of his palms.
His appetite grew bigger and bigger.
In order not to stand out, he sneaked out every day and ate outside.
He had four meals at home — breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as supper.
Outside, he still ate the same amount of food as at home.
After seven days of this, Lu Sheng's entire body seemed to have become sturdier, and his body was no longer as thin and weak as before.
He had long since returned the saber art manual to Uncle Zhao in its entirety.
When Uncle Zhao heard about his bedridden illness, he only shook his head and sighed when he received the saber art manual. He did not say anything else, nor did he ask about his saber practice.
Lu Sheng guessed that he must have thought that he had injured himself in his careless attempt at saber practice.
Uncle Zhao's thoughts were indeed similar.
Originally, he had been waiting for Lu Sheng's saber practice to fail, so that he could answer his questions. Little did he expect that in the blink of an eye, he would hear about Young Master Lu Sheng's bedridden injury.
After that, he returned the manual to him and no longer asked about the Black Tiger Saber.
He thought that Lu Sheng was no longer interested and had given up.
Regarding this, Uncle Zhao could only sigh and say nothing else.
Everything returned to how it was in the past.
Life in the Lu Manor did not seem to be affected much by the Xu Family.
The younger generation went out for walks, continued to drink with the courtesans, listened to music, rode horses, and participated in poetry and flower gatherings. Although Nine Links City was not big, it was not small either. It had everything one could wish for.
From time to time, the older generation would attend this gathering, attend that gathering, and go to the yamen in the city to discuss matters.
Lu Quanan also spent his days immersed in the Chamber of Commerce and business.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the Xu Family's tragedy. They were living the same life as before once again.
There were only two people who were different from the past.
One was Lu Yiyi. Having lost her fiancé and her lover, she washed her face with tears every day, looking more and more haggard.
The other was Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng had become more fond of going out.
He did not go out to have fun or listen to music, but to find an empty patch of forest outside the city.
Minding his own business, he began practicing the Black Tiger Saber Technique.
…
Black Wind Ridge was located to the southwest of Nine Links City.
The wind howled. It was night time.
Lu Sheng picked up a podao from the blacksmith's shop in the city and hurried to this place.
He did not expect to reach Black Wind Ridge, but only wanted to find a chance to test his saber along the way.
He had obtained the Black Tiger Saber Technique using the Modifier, and did not intend to expose it. This could be his trump card.
In the eyes of outsiders, he was just an ordinary young master of a rich family who could not even truss a chicken.
With such a misconception, this skill would become his greatest trump card if any danger were to target him.
Of course, the prerequisite was that his experience with the Black Tiger Saber Technique was really useful.
Lu Sheng did not know where exactly Black Wind Ridge was, or how far it was from Nine Links City.
There was no curfew in Nine Links City, and the city gates were open at night. He put on thick clothes, lowered his head to cover his face, and changed into a plain outfit. Then, he used a feminine cosmetic powder to slightly alter his face.
In an instant, he became an ordinary tourist that no one recognized.
Leaving the city under the cover of night, Lu Sheng gazed into the distance.
The pitch-black wilderness was like a sleeping Behemoth, quietly lurking under the moonlight.
His heart was beating like a drum.
But in order to hide himself, and to test out the power of the Black Tiger Saber Technique …
Standing at the city gates, he mustered his courage and walked towards Black Wind Ridge.
"Ding ding ding …"
The returning caravan was entering the city from the main road.
The bells hanging on the carriages and horses rattled in the wind, drifting far away in the night breeze.
Lu Sheng left the city through the side gate.
The city gates of Nine Links City were very strange. Not only were they open at night, but there were also several city gates. The city walls looked tall and thick, but in reality, they were full of air leaks and were of no defensive use at all.
"You're arriving at night again?"
"Of course … it's pitch black at night, and I sprained my wheels on the road. What bad luck …"
On the main road of the city gates, the voices of the caravan leader and the city guard could be heard from afar.
Lu Sheng stood on the small road facing southwest, which was much narrower than the main road.
The pitch-black side gate was lit only by two torches burning on the city walls. The dim light spilled down, and he could only see about half a meter in front of him.
"It really is ancient times …" Lu Sheng sighed inwardly.
Looking up, it was pitch-black in all three directions. Only Nine Links City behind him had the light of a fire.
"No torchlight, no light. The wilderness of ancient times was practically a hunting paradise for wild animals."
He hesitated for a moment, but the experience of the Black Tiger Saber Technique surging through his body made him feel less fearful.
Because the Black Tiger Saber Technique had a way to deal with such dark environments.
Or rather, the Black Tiger itself was an expert at hunting in the dark. The Black Tiger Saber Technique had high requirements for determining position by listening to the wind, so it was unafraid of such environments.
Tightening his belt, Lu Sheng gripped his podao tightly and sped up towards the small road leading to Black Wind Ridge.
After walking a few hundred meters along the small road, he took out a flint from the cloth pouch at his waist and retrieved the small torch he had prepared earlier on his back.
He placed one of the flints at the tip of the torch, and rubbed the two stones together.
"Pa."
Sparks flew on the tip of the torch.
The red sparks were tiny at first, but soon spread to the entire tip of the torch.
Finally, there was light in the darkness.
Lu Sheng glanced back. The light of Nine Links City was already very dim.
He raised the torch and walked forward slowly.
"According to the hunters, a wild wolf often appears on this road at night. Let's see how lucky I am. "
He didn't dare to go to Black Wind Ridge. Now that he knew there was a high possibility of ghosts and monsters in this world, he naturally didn't dare to stray too far from the city.
If not for the fact that he had found many ways to test his strength in the city, he wouldn't have come all the way here alone to try his luck.
After walking forward for some distance, he soon discovered traces on the ground.
These were the traces of the wild wolf that the old hunter had mentioned.
A few trails of white terracotta oval-shaped excrement.
Lu Sheng picked up a rock and poked at the excrement.
It had already hardened due to the wind, and when it was broken, it revealed something that looked like a fingernail.
"It's here … this pile of excrement should be from a few days ago. According to the old hunter, he saw that old wolf here yesterday. It should be nearby. "
Lu Sheng held the torch in one hand and slowly pulled out the podao from behind his back with the other.
The podao was a type of saber derived from the unification of weapons and agriculture, and its hilt was very long.
The hilt of Lu Sheng's saber was as long as the blade. Once the blade was removed, it could be used as a farmer's pole. It was somewhat similar to a miniature guandao.
He held it with one hand, but it wasn't strong enough.
He simply stuck the torch into a crack in the rock.
The surroundings were rocky and jagged, and there weren't many trees either, so he wasn't afraid of fire.
Lu Sheng stuck the torch in and carefully took out a paper bag from his waist pouch. In the paper bag was a piece of fresh pork that he had just cut in the afternoon.
He slowly unrolled the paper and placed it on the ground.
The surface of the meat was still stained with blood, and a fishy smell quickly spread with the wind.
Lu Sheng held the saber and moved a little further away, hiding behind a large rock and waiting.
The wind was slightly cold.
Lu Sheng leaned sideways, leaning against the white rock that was taller than a person, and looked in the direction of the meat.
Time passed slowly.
"Woo …"
Soon, a faint sound came from the wind. It sounded like the sound of the wind, but also like the whimpering of some animal.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a black shadow pounced from the side. The light from the torch reflected a pair of green eyes.
The black shadow was extremely fast. It pounced on the meat in an instant, picked it up and ran.
Lu Sheng was delighted and was about to move.
Suddenly, he felt his back tighten.
A gust of cold wind hit his back.
Lu Sheng's eyes widened. He turned around with his podao and slashed horizontally.
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