He turned the wine glass, seemingly unintentionally saying:
"For a talent , the higher-ups shouldn't be stingy."
The valiant man said: "Naturally, she is different from the ordinary Sword Servants. If she hadn't been cultivating in the secret place all this time, I would almost have thought she had received guidance from a Grandmaster, or even several Grandmasters, with her rapid progress, which can be described as advancing by leaps and bounds."
"The higher-ups have already decided to grant her the privilege to comprehend and imitate the Zhen Yue Sword. Top-grade medicinal materials are provided without shortage, along with Gold and Silver rewards. Yet she only exchanged them for a Grandmaster's guidance in her cultivation, truly having a heart devoted to martial arts, thus awarding her a core Martial Arts technique."
The young man nodded, and for some reason, felt a bit uneasy. If Master Butterfly Hua grows too fast, she might surpass his control. Unfortunately, she has already entered the higher-ups' perspective, and any further attempts to exert control might irritate the higher-ups.
The only option is to secretly approach her and cater to her tastes.
Just, what would she like?
Having gained recognition from the higher-ups, even he must resort to tricks to curry favor with her. It can only be said that this woman is driven by a keen sense of revenge, having stumbled into an extraordinarily brilliant strategy.
The valiant man drank the wine in his cup and stood up, saying:
"This trip is merely to advise you not to be reckless. Although you and Xu Sixing are teaming up, despite your incompatibility, do not neglect important matters."
"Otherwise, it will greatly affect the higher-ups' evaluation of you."
The young man snapped back to reality and laughed coldly, saying:
"A person of noble status wouldn't risk everything just to sit idly by. I am different from that brute; I won't be reckless."
"Moreover, he is currently in Liangzhou City, seeking merit by taking the initiative to risk danger, so he won't have any contact with me. How then would I affect his affairs?"
The valiant man neither agreed nor disagreed.
A Flying Eagle flapped across the sky; the young man's expression changed slightly as the eagle seemed to come straight for him, landing on the table. Before he could rise, the already standing valiant man stepped forward to retrieve the letter from the eagle, instantly stiffening, his calm face suddenly displaying evident shock and horror.
The young man suddenly felt uneasy and subconsciously stood up, asking:
The valiant man glanced at him, woodenly handing over the letter.
The letter was blank, with only one line in the middle written vertically in black characters.
[Great Qin City's Lei Dao Grandmaster appears, Xu Sixing has lost contact.]
The young man's gaze froze, his breath abruptly halting.
The black characters seemed to carry an extremely terrifying pressure, overwhelming his vision and mind, the ink spreading out in those four large characters, leaving his thoughts instantly bewildered. He immediately recalled the unusual celestial phenomenon of last night.
Lei Dao, Grandmaster?!
The atmosphere in the guesthouse room became tense due to Li Qidao's casual remark.
Wang Anfeng lightly coughed, breaking the atmosphere, and gently explained to Dongfang Ximing, who had unconsciously recoiled:
"Uncle Li means, well, sparring among Martial Artists."
He looked at the old man, and Li Qidao chuckled, saying: "Yes, yes, back then we used to speak more directly; sparring it was, sparring it was."
"Back then, we formed life-and-death friendships!"
Dongfang Ximing sensed the sincerity in those words.
Li Qidao relaxed slightly, feeling a bit troubled, knowing that when dealing with the Dongfang Clan, especially in a certain sense with the Legitimate Heir, he had to be sincere. Otherwise, it was easy to get caught; lies hardly worked on them unless he could fool even himself.
The old man's mind buzzed with thoughts.
Life-and-death friendships.
Hmm, fought until near death but didn't completely kill, naturally it was a 'life-and-death friendship.'
Wang Anfeng, seeing the timing was about right, organized his words in his mind but dared not let Li Qidao speak again. With his understanding and familiarity with the old man, so-called life-and-death friendships likely were considered only on their side, and the intensity of the old man's sparring required deliberation. Thus, he proactively said:
"Dongfang..., um, how did you end up in Liangzhou City?"
"This place is in the southwest of Great Qin, and the Dongfang Noble Clan, if I remember correctly, has lived on Penglai Island of the East Sea for generations, rarely stepping into the mortal world... I mean, did you come out alone? Is there no one protecting you?"
Dongfang Ximing fell into silence, her gaze lowered, looking at her toes, and mumbled:
"No, I'm not the only one..."
Wang Anfeng and Li Qidao exchanged glances, saying:
Dongfang Ximing softly replied: "The young lady is also here, but the young lady, she..."
She trailed off, recalling what the elegant lady had done, unable to continue, her somewhat thin shoulders subtly trembling, as if a switch had been flicked, all the thoughts and emotions she hadn't wanted to consider since last night suddenly surged forth.
The clearest among them was the faintly lit, cold, serene eyes.
Wang Anfeng crouched down, placing his palm on Dongfang Ximing's hand, channeling Shaolin Internal Strength to help dispel her fear and worries from within, while Li Qidao noticed something amiss, his gray eyebrows furrowing, saying:
Dongfang Ximing's inner fear and apprehension were soothed by the bright, straightforward characteristic of Shaolin Internal Strength, she nodded, saying: "Yes, she is the daughter of the Dongfang Family Head, the most outstanding person in this generation of the Dongfang Clan."
"She is our generation's Dongfang Ningxin."
Li Qidao's expression changed slightly.
He had encountered many events and, due to past incidents, knew the methods of the Dongfang Clan, immediately realizing the key issue of this situation, immediately exploding with anger from deep within. The ambiance turned heavily oppressive, a beast between illusion and reality roared, the rumble of thunder echoed.