That evening.
In the darkness, amidst the rustling sounds, a pair of small hands brushed over Li Xuan's body and finally came to rest.
Su Qiang's surprised voice came through: "Young master, your... your body..."
"Very hard, isn't it?"
Li Xuan had long known he couldn't hide his transformation.
Think back forty days ago, he was still a "strength 6, physique 6, agility 5" young master's body, but now he was at the level of "strength 10, physique 10, agility 15." For Rose, it was akin to her partner suddenly transforming from a "six-pack covered by a slightly pudgy belly" to a "muscular man in full vigor."
Li Xuan's innate talent wasn't exceptional, and after training for so many days, he understood that "innate talent" was the attribute cap.
Different attribute caps correspond to different types of innate talent, so it's truly challenging for a grandmaster to find a suitable disciple for their own cultivation method. First, you need to find someone with good innate talent, and secondly, it must be compatible. If a hard-practice grandmaster tries to teach a "student with high agility innate talent," then despite having exceptional innate talent, the student would never succeed in hard-practice techniques, and likewise for other methods.
Initially his innate talent was "all attributes capped at 10", and the highest achievement with such talent could barely touch the threshold of a first-rate master. To further progress would require unknown amounts of effort and resources.
However, his method of cultivating techniques was simply beyond extraordinary.
Others become experts step by step.
He, on the other hand, directly infused demon blood into his body, using the posture of a top master to reverse cultivate, naturally progressing thousands of miles a day.
"Hard or not?" The young man asks teasingly in the dark.
"Annoying!"
Su Qiang gives a coy huff, pushes away his chest with her hands, and gracefully moves away.
Even in the dark, her allure was unmistakable.
Li Xuan adored her allure.
Outside, the cold wind howled, and beyond the inner courtyard walls, one could still hear the sounds of clapper boards and the calls of night guards shouting "the weather is dry, be careful of fire."
Beyond the guards' voices, there were the footsteps of groups patrolling, enforcing the county's "night curfew."
The air was cold, and the atmosphere was grim.
He listened for a while, but soon felt that the distant graceful figure had returned to his embrace.
"Cold."
Just moments ago, the alluring maid now seemed like a shivering, lovable little creature, curling into Li Xuan's embrace, her petite foot gently hooking his calf.
Yet, her body was anything but cold, in fact, it was burning fiercely.
Li Xuan did not continue.
He was preoccupied.
"Young master, how... have you changed so much lately? So incredible!" Su Qiang leaned close to his ear, asking as she exhaled.
Li Xuan leaned back, whispering, "I mastered the 'Melted Copper Treasure Manual.'
Su Qiang: ???
Li Xuan felt the tender body stiffen this time.
So, he added, "Mastered beautifully."
Su Qiang: !!!
"Impossible, absolutely impossible..." The maid with a devilish charm blurted out her true thoughts.
"Zhangsun Yu spent his life unable to find a suitable successor; his technique is powerful but incredibly difficult to master.
Previously he even picked geniuses from the Yu Sect for careful teaching.
Yet those geniuses either couldn't grasp the basics, or while training, they'd cut their own fingers or be covered in scars, completely losing faith in continuing to train."
Li Xuan flipped her over, raised a hand to grab, and took out ten silver wire rings from under the pillow, then directly placed them on his fingers. With a motion of his ten fingers, transparent saw wires shot out and adhered gently to various places, forming a killing net in the small room.
Su Qiang lay beside him, but couldn't see the wires at all.
Yet she could sense their presence.
The entire small room had transformed into a deadly trap, where if anyone dared to enter, Li Xuan only needed to retract the wires, instantly slicing them.
The crucial point was, others couldn't see the saw wires at all.
A moment passed...
In the darkness, Li Xuan retracted his hand.
He had unknowingly already taken back all the saw wires.
Even though Su Qiang was right beside him, she couldn't tell when or how he retracted them.
From this skillful technique, Su Qiang understood that the young master had truly mastered the 'Melted Copper Treasure Manual.' Whether he had reached full mastery or not was unknown, but he definitely wasn't at the beginner level.
She was deeply shocked in her heart.
She never imagined the young master could practice this method.
When she took the technique, firstly she knew it was Zhangsun Yu's cherished expertise, quite rare; secondly, she didn't want anyone to connect the deceased with the Yu Sect's Zhangsun Yu and thereby trace back to the Li family. That would bring immense trouble, possibly even calamity.
But she never thought the young master would actually practice it.
At this moment, she felt no joy, only fear; she worriedly leaned against Li Xuan's chest, babbling incessantly: "Young master, never use this technique.
This method is for killing, with high recognition.
Zhangsun Yu's enemies are everywhere under the sky, if anyone finds out you practiced it, not only will grandmasters from the dynasty come, Zhangsun Yu's enemies will too."
Li Xuan nodded, gave a response: "I'm not foolish."
"Yes... yes..." Su Qiang was somewhat bewildered and frightened, repeatedly saying, "You mustn't use it, no one should know you have any ties to the Yu Sect, absolutely mustn't... absolutely mustn't..."
Li Xuan just thought she was worried about him and gently comforted her for a while.
Suddenly, he asked, "What do you think the motivation was behind killing Zhangsun Yu?"
The wealth wasn't taken.
The cultivation technique wasn't stolen.
They just cooked and killed the Grandmaster.
What was the purpose?
This inexplicable anomaly exuded a chilling sense of eeriness when thought about carefully.
Su Qiang shook her head.
The two of them remained silent for a while, then returned to discussing the "flower thief" matter.
Although Su Qiang was just a maid, everyone knew that she was only a step away from becoming a "madam," and she might become the second or third wife of the new Patriarch of the Li family. Therefore, she enjoyed quite a few privileges within the Li family, at least in terms of gathering information from the servants, she was quite successful.
And lately, she had been keeping a close watch on these matters.
So, she said directly, "The government office said they're about to catch the person. Even a junior government official saw that person's silhouette, a moderately built man, not too fat or thin, with rather messy hair.
That man hurriedly ran away from the crime scene, and later the government office discovered another innocent girl had been tragically killed.
Now the government office has commissioned an artist to draw an image. Although the face isn't drawn, the side profile is vividly detailed."
"It's good if they can catch him," Li Xuan felt slightly relieved inside.
"By the way, young master, there's one more thing..." Su Qiang whispered, "The Tian family has wrapped the demonic leopard's corpse in ice and snow and transported it out of the county."
Li Xuan was taken aback.
His maid seemed quite skilled, knowing how to select important information, track information, and have the channels to gather this information.
However, what was the Tian family planning to do by moving the demonic leopard out of town?
This matter could be casually asked about with his little aunt when there's a chance since his little aunt is married into the Tian family.
And this little aunt is his mother's own younger sister, who visits during the New Year and festivals.
In Xiongshan County, the major powers are so closely connected, intertwined with each other.
...
...
New Year's Eve arrived in a flash.
Xiongshan County was festively decorated, with strings of red lanterns hanging across the streets, radiating a cheerful red glow.
Snowflakes gently fell, but people's hearts were warm.
Whether rich or poor, everyone enjoyed family reunions, eating the New Year's goods bought before the year-end.
The whole year was awaited just for this day.
The thick clouds brought by the man-eating demonic leopard of recent days and the tense atmosphere from the "flower thief" in Xiongshan County were temporarily suppressed by this festive joy.
...
Afternoon.
Li Xuan carried his sword to his father's study.
His father believed in Buddhism, so a separate room was set up on one side of the study.
Inside was a shrine dedicated to the unique "Wenxian Bodhisattva" of this Otherworld.
Master Li prayed to Wenxian Bodhisattva for peace and for literary luck.
The Yin Country governed primarily through literature, with martial artists as a secondary force. Even the great generals who led armies were mostly scholar-generals with ordinary martial skills. As for the Grandmasters, they were merely assistants to these scholar-generals or leaders of guards responsible for preventing assassinations and executing special missions.
Master Li had once wanted Li Xuan to take the imperial examination.
But after understanding the examination process, Li Xuan decided to give up.
To pass, you had to memorize countless thick volumes thoroughly, as the examination officials liked to extract phrases from obscure corners of those books, either to be filled in verbatim or to have you write some essays.
If he hadn't been reincarnated, he would have studied earnestly and sought progress.
But since he had been reborn, he aimed for enjoyment, so why bother with the imperial examination?
He wasn't even striving to become a Grandmaster, so why go for the examination?
Moreover, taking the examination would likely mean he couldn't inherit the family business, something Li Xuan wasn't interested in. Besides, if one really wanted to become an official, one could still purchase a position.
With his lack of effort, the important responsibility of "studying hard and making progress every day" fell on his nine-year-old brother, Li Zhili.
At this time, the colorful banners in the room fluttered in the light snow.
The flags on the other side also swayed gently in the wind, with small scripts written by Li Xuan's mother to pray for blessings for her son and the family.
Inside the room, father was leading Li Xuan's mother, the second wife, and their nine-year-old brother in burning incense and praying, invoking the name of Wenxian Bodhisattva.
Li Xuan stood quietly under the eaves.
A moment later, Master Li came out, and the young Li Zhili, still a boy, ran out, gracefully bowing with a greeting, "Greetings, elder brother."
Li Xuan returned the salute, smiling, "How are your studies going, Zhili?"
"Thank you for your concern, elder brother, everything is fine." Li Zhili said it was fine, but his eyes were filled with deep pain, pain so extreme that he seemed almost numb. While other children were playing, he had to hold thick ancient books and study them repeatedly. Every day, apart from having a private tutor teaching him, his mother had him transcribe from memory after class. She made him strictly adhere to etiquette, and if he failed in his memory or was disrespectful, his second mother would grab a stick and beat him like a bamboo shoot stir-fried with meat.
Li Xuan obviously noticed his own brother's suffering, thinking to himself how fortunate he was not to have compromised back then.
The short exchange between the brothers ended.
Master Li looked at Li Xuan and said directly, "What explanation do you have for me?"