Drizzling rain on May 23, 2017
A distinguished guest arrived at the Li Family Mansion. In the light rain, Lu Xin, the Lady of the House, went out personally to welcome the visitor, her smile as radiant as summer peach blossoms.
"Thirteen, why are you here? Isn't it deadline time for you these days? You're usually so busy you don't even know day from night."
The guest whom Lu Xin called Thirteen was actually the best-selling author Li Jinglun. He had shaken off the disheveled look of the day before, and after grooming himself, he appeared poised and handsome. Despite slightly messy hair and a hint of shadows under his eyes, he was every bit the dashing man, and his relaxed and cheerful smile sent the cheeks of countless servant girls and maids at the Li Family Mansion flushing unconsciously.
Yet he himself was totally oblivious to this, eagerly saying to Lu Xin, "Haha, I was really lucky this time. I met an extraordinary person who helped me solve some tough mathematical problems, and the process of finishing the manuscript went so smoothly! I handed the full draft to the editor for proofreading this morning."
Without regard for still standing outside the courtyard gate with Lu Xin, he started excitedly recounting yesterday's encounter.
"That person was really something else. He was a newbie who came to copy books as part of a hundred-family task, yet his handwriting was shockingly bad. I don't even know how he got the task. I was going to criticize him and kick him out, but it turned out his math skills were out of this world... With his help, writing books will be at least twice as easy for me, and I only have to pay him a tenth of the manuscript fee. What a bargain!"
Lu Xin, sharing in her friend's excitement and joy, responded, "Having a capable assistant is indeed a rare blessing that money can't buy, Thirteen. You're really the envy of many."
She spoke without even glancing at the housekeeper, Li Ping, who was standing beside her.
Li Jinglun excitedly continued, "Not only did that person point out errors in my algorithms, but he also inspired me to use a new way of thinking to interpret these errors. Though theoretically, it's like patching up flaws, it can practically serve as a reference to temporarily obscure some difficult detail issues. This reminded me that, Sister-in-law, you're currently practicing the Golden Crow Divine Sword. If you blurred a few areas, you might bypass a bottleneck, reaching the next realm directly!"
Having heard Li Jinglun's explanation, Lu Xin's eyes lit up with understanding: "Alright, I get it. It just so happens Fengyun has finished morning practice. The training room is empty now; why not go there and practice?"
"I was thinking the same thing!"
Soon after, Lu Xin led Li Jinglun to the Patriarch's private training room at the Li Family Mansion. This was an underground cave space beneath the mansion, vast in area with various technique barriers capable of simulating diverse environments, like high-altitude winds, underground abysses, even volcanic lava, and the Nether Sea floor.
The array barriers could protect the cultivators inside from backlash and deviation during the practice of cultivation techniques, ensuring safety during sparring to avoid accidental injuries... Their utility was limitless. Such a state-of-the-art training room, even with the accumulated wealth of the Li Family as one of the Seven Great Noble Families in Xiangzhou, was built only once, exclusively for the Patriarch and a select few authorized individuals.
As Li Fengyun's wife, Lu Xin was naturally among those select people. Arriving at the training room with Li Jinglun, they quickly designed the sparring scene, wasting no time as she lifted her hand to unleash a storm-like Golden Crow Sword Qi right at him.
Li Jinglun perked up and faced it head-on. The Lady of the House, with whom he was evenly matched in both age and aptitude, shared the same cultivation realm with him: Initial Tier of the Rain Cover Realm. Practicing the Lu Family's Golden Crow Divine Sword, comparable to the Li Family's Heaven-Burning Swordsmanship, her technique was incredibly dominant and fierce, often overpowering slightly weaker opponents instantly.
Luckily, he was not weak either, especially after sparring with Lu Xin many times before, familiar with her weaknesses. The Golden Crow Sword Qi was designed with a triple burst, but her divine sense cultivation could only manage the first two bursts, leaving the third as mere formality, so he could absolutely use the Moon-locking Sword, mixing defense with attack, to counterstruck!
Lu Xin, seeing Li Jinglun use the Double Linked Ring Moon-locking Sword Technique, also smiled inwardly. This old Thirteen was still up to his old tricks, thinking she could only seriously handle the first two bursts of Sword Qi and disregarding the third one. However, unbeknownst to him, she had already revised the initiation method thanks to his earlier inspiration. This time, the real power lay in the last two bursts, with the first just a diversion!
Both calculating their moves, moments later, the Golden Crow and Moon-lock collided. After an earth-shattering disturbance, the training room perfectly simulated the destructive power of Rain Cover Realm experts — a massive Qingshan was cleaved in two, a deep gorge a hundred meters high carved out by Sword Qi, yet both combatants were unharmed.
Both Lu Xin and Li Jinglun were somewhat surprised at the result, momentarily frozen on the spot.
A moment later, cries and shouts erupted from afar. Simultaneously turning their heads, they saw a thriving village at the foot of Qingshan had turned into hell on earth. A fierce Sword Qi had struck the village center, instantly flattening over twenty residential homes, its fiery heat quickly igniting the entire village. Dozens of innocent villagers lay buried under the rubble, while more wailed amidst the flames.
"..." Both Lu Xin and Li Jinglun were speechless.
"How did this happen?!"
Li Jinglun furrowed his brows, trying hard to replay each detail of the previous skirmish in his mind and contemplated, "I used the Moon-locking Sword against your first two layers of Golden Crow Sword Qi, and before your third layer fully materialized, I transitioned from defense to attack. But the initial impact's result was unexpected; the Moon-locking Sword didn't hold your explosive Sword Qi down. Did you add even more changes to the Sword Qi?"
Lu Xin was stunned for a moment, then a blush appeared on her girlish face: "I, my first sword slipped..."
Li Jinglun was dumbfounded: "Slipped?!"
"I wanted to change the focus of the burst, but being out of practice, a slip is totally normal. But why didn't you manage to lock down the first layer of Sword Qi? I didn't add any new variations."
This time it was Li Jinglun's turn to blush: "I, I prepared the Moon-locking Sword Qi in advance, not after your Sword Qi was unleashed. If you don't follow the script, of course, I'll make a misstep..."
"Prepared in advance... So you were just guessing!"
"I, I... It's called sophisticated deduction!"
"Well, let's not dwell on minor mistakes for now. Let's have another round."
"Alright!"
A moment later, with the scene reset, they clashed again, Golden Crow against Moon-lock. The first round was uneventful and a draw, but in the second, Li Jinglun attempted a change of tactics using the newly improved Moonlight Divine Sword to seize the advantage. The change was too hasty, and his sword slipped out of his hand. Lu Xin was taken aback, flustered, and her Sword Qi wildly veered and swept...
"Ah, Mother Zhu'Er, what's happened to you? Mother Zhu'Er, stay strong!"
"Village chief, village chief, wake up!"
"Please save them, my children, my children are inside, please hurry and save them!"
The two sparring in the sky were pale-faced.
Just then, at the training room door, a gray-haired middle-aged swordsman shook his head and left.
Behind him, the old servant Li Hong asked puzzledly, "Master, aren't you going to watch?"
Li Fengyun waved his hand, "It's an eyesore, I really can't stand watching them. Every time I watch them spar, several of my inspirations get killed; it's even worse than a heart demon. Remember to warn me not to get too close next time they spar."
"Old servant understands."
After a while, Li Hong suggested, "Next time if someone from Cyan Lotus Academy comes for a friendly spar, perhaps the Lady and Master Thirteen could have an exhibition match first to influence the opponent's state."
Li Fengyun stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and nodded, "That's an interesting suggestion, I think it's worth considering."
"Old servant understands."
——
A few hours later, Lu Xin and Li Jinglun finally finished sparring, both feeling exhausted but satisfied.
"Thirteen, you really are getting more skilled."
"Not at all, sister-in-law is still better. In this sparring session, sister-in-law was in control the whole time, leaving me quite embarrassed. Look at me sweating—quite unusual for a dignified cultivator."
Lu Xin laughed, "I was also made to sweat by you. It's only with you that I can enjoy it so much; even Fengyun never made me feel so satisfied before."
"Haha, big brother, after all, is a top expert at the Mountain-Overturning Realm peak. Sparring with sister-in-law ends too quickly, naturally not satisfying enough."
"Exactly, every time it ends in an instant; he never holds back. Alas, your big brother is so straightforward, full of talent, yet completely oblivious to a woman's thoughts."
"Indeed, although big brother has countless good qualities, he is truly as blunt as can be, sister-in-law has endured hardship over the years."
"It's fortunate you often come to spar with me, we..." But then Lu Xin suddenly felt something was off and shut her mouth.
Li Jinglun also abruptly fell silent.
The two awkwardly looked at each other for a long time, then Lu Xin broke the silence, "Our earlier conversation..."
"We were just discussing sparring practice, with no other implications."
Lu Xin nodded vigorously, "Of course, it's just sparring, couldn't have meant anything else..."
Li Jinglun said, "But there will always be a few people who prefer making things up."
"Indeed, people are ignorant, it's inevitable."
"So, the earlier conversation should never be heard by a third person!"
Lu Xin nodded, "Right, it's just our secret."
Again, they exchanged awkward glances, then Lu Xin said softly, "The term 'our secret' might be a bit..."
"Anyway, let's change the subject!"
"Yes, let's switch topics. The mysterious newcomer you mentioned earlier, have you investigated his background?"
Li Jinglun replied, "Not really, but when he came over to take on tasks, he showed his association badge; perhaps we can use that to find out his identity."
"That's easy; I have query access at the association. Give me his number and I can look it up."
"Oh, the number is..." Li Jinglun paused, "What was it again?"