The stroke came fast and furious—an instinctive motion, honed as though it had been practiced countless times. Lu Sheng’s body moved before his mind could catch up.
He saw the black, ball-shaped shadow lunging toward him—then felt the jarring recoil as his saber connected with something solid. Using the momentum from the impact, he swept the long-hilted blade across, flinging the dark figure aside.
“BAM!”
The shadow crashed onto the ground, rolling several times before a low, guttural growl escaped it. The torchlight flickered across its form—revealing a wild wolf. Its flank had been split wide open by his saber.
Before Lu Sheng could even process what he saw, two more wolves lunged from the darkness. His body once again moved on pure reflex.
Tilting the long-hilted saber to the left, he intercepted one of the wolves with the hilt, then twisted his body, hurling it into its companion.
“Bang!”
The forceful movements left his arms trembling and his chest heaving. He was, after all, still the frail, pampered son of a wealthy household not long ago.
Both wolves were thrown aside, whimpering in pain. Gasping for breath, his eyes blazing red, Lu Sheng raised his saber high and unleashed a Tiger Kill upon the nearest beast.
The blade came down from above, slightly angled. His wrists shuddered—three sharp tremors, perfectly timed according to the mantra.
“Whoosh!”
A tiger’s roar seemed to echo through the air. The two wolves froze, fear flashing in their eyes as their movements faltered.
In that instant, light streaked along the saber’s edge. One wolf’s head flew cleanly from its body; the other’s neck was slashed, blood spurting in rapid bursts.
Lu Sheng drew upon the last of his strength and struck once more—this time, the Tiger Might. His forearm vibrated four times, each pulse delivering a distinct layer of force. Every ounce of his power surged into the saber.
Tiger Might favored speed over sheer force, but even so, no wild wolf’s neck could withstand its deadly precision.
Before the wolf could react, the long-hilted saber flashed forward—its speed surging without warning—and struck squarely across its neck.
“Splat!”
The wolf’s head tumbled to the ground.
Lu Sheng gasped for air, his chest rising and falling heavily. Sweat slicked his face, glinting under the dim torchlight. The series of fierce, continuous movements had drained him completely.
“HOWL…”
A single wolf remained—the one that had gone for the meat earlier. It crept out from behind a rock, its two green eyes blazing with fury as it fixed its gaze on Lu Sheng.
My body’s still too weak… he thought, frustration tightening in his chest.
Even so, his expression stayed calm. He knew well—when facing a wild beast, showing fear or retreating even half a step was fatal.
“Eh!?”
Both his eyes widened as he glared fiercely at the wolf, unyielding.
For a tense moment, the last wild wolf stared back, its gaze wavering. Then, with a low growl, it began to retreat—slowly, step by step—before vanishing completely into the darkness.
Only then did Lu Sheng let out a long, shaky breath. His stamina was nearly gone; his arms felt heavy, trembling as he struggled to keep his grip on the saber.
If that wolf had truly lunged at him just now… he might have survived, but not without suffering serious wounds.
He waited until he was sure the creature had departed, then picked up the torch and began heading swiftly toward Nine Links City.
This encounter had shown him his limits clearly.
He recalled Uncle Zhao’s story—his uncle’s youthful glory, when he had once faced three wild wolves alone outside the city. With only a single-handed saber, he had slain them all, suffering nothing more than a shallow cut on his forearm. That feat had earned him legendary praise.
The wild wolves of this world, however, were unlike any Lu Sheng had ever known. They were far larger—each one nearly the size of a golden retriever—and far stronger, too. [1]
And unlike the wolves of Earth, these creatures hunted in small packs of three to five, rarely gathering in large numbers.
Lu Sheng jogged toward the city gates, his breath steadying with each step. When the distant glow of the torches atop the walls came into sight, a wave of relief washed over him.
Rolling up his sleeves, he concealed the bloodstains on his clothes and adjusted the long-hilted saber, hiding it beneath the folds of his robe. Then, taking out his travel pass, he straightened his posture and strode toward the city gates.
............
“Brother Sheng, Brother Sheng, listen to me! This isn’t some ordinary item. As soon as I reached Zi Hua City, I had people bring it here from there! Rumor has it, in the Central Plains it’s hailed as the Number One Legendary Stone! Merchants and nobles alike fought tooth and nail to get their hands on it. But fate intervened—it fell into a river during the chaos, drifted downstream, and was finally fished out by the locals of Zi Hua City!350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kHAlgFfo5
I can’t possibly tell you all the twists and turns in just a few words. If not for—”
“Do I look like a fool to you?” Lu Sheng gently waved his folding fan, smiling faintly at the plump man before him.
That man was Zheng Xiangui—the second son of the owner of Precious & Famous Auction House in Nine Links City, and once, Lu Sheng’s closest friend. The two had grown up together like brothers, sharing laughter and hardship in equal measure. [2]
But Zheng Xiangui had one incurable flaw—his greed. As he often said himself, even brothers should keep clear accounts, or else their bond would rot with time.
They now sat inside the Peony Room of Goldfish Restaurant. A voluptuous woman in pink reclined lazily in Zheng Xiangui’s arms, her laughter soft as perfume filled the air.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwETB6QSWQ
Across the table, Zheng Xiangui’s round face twisted in mock anguish as he stared at Lu Sheng.
“Brother Sheng, you wound me! Your brother here went through all kinds of trouble to find this rare treasure, and now I’m offering you the chance to bid for it privately—before it even reaches the auction! It’s fine if you don’t appreciate its worth, but must you mock me?”
The fat man pointed accusingly at Lu Sheng, his face a picture of exaggerated grief.
“Alright, alright. Don’t start that act with me. Have you gotten any word about the martial arts manuals I asked for?” Lu Sheng’s tone turned calm again as he folded his fan.
He hadn’t come to see this old friend just for chatter. One Black Tiger Saber Technique alone was far from enough—he knew that now.
After witnessing the kind of strength that allowed Uncle Zhao to survive in the wilderness, Lu Sheng finally understood how small his own power truly was.
No wonder he had never heard of anyone traveling alone beyond the city. The wilderness teemed with wild beasts—venturing out by oneself was nothing short of suicide.
Even Uncle Zhao—Zhao Dahu, renowned throughout Nine Links City—had once said he could handle three wolves at most, perhaps four if luck favored him. Any more, and even the city’s so-called top expert would have to bow to death.
“When it comes to martial arts manuals, it’s nearly impossible to tell the real from the fake,” Zheng Xiangui said, idly rubbing the white jade thumb ring on his hand. “And even if they’re genuine, many are laced with traps. Practice the wrong method, and you could cripple yourself for life. What are you planning to do with them anyway, Brother Sheng? Without a master to guide you, buying them is pointless.”
“You’re quite well-informed,” Lu Sheng replied with a faint chuckle. “I have my own reasons for wanting them. Just help me find a few to start with.”
Zheng Xiangui shrugged lazily. “Well, there are a couple available. Two manuals were just consigned for sale by a client. We even had a master verify them—they seem genuine. But no one dares practice them without guidance.”
“What’s the asking price?” Lu Sheng asked bluntly.
“Hey now, Brother Sheng, with the kind of friendship we have, why so formal?” Zheng Xiangui giggled in an oddly high tone.
“Can you stop being so disgusting?” Lu Sheng sighed, exasperated. “Just name your price. I’m in a hurry.”
“I can only sell you one. The other’s already reserved for another VIP,” Zheng Xiangui replied with a sly grin.
“One will do. Did you bring it?” Lu Sheng asked, glancing up.
“Brother Sheng knows me too well. I figured you’d come looking, so I brought it with me.” Zheng Xiangui reached into his sleeve and produced a thin, gray booklet.
“This one doesn’t teach any moves. It’s purely a special strength cultivation method. One price—one hundred taels.”
“Let me take a look first.” Lu Sheng extended his hand.
A hundred taels—roughly ten thousand dollars. This fatso truly dared to ask for it.
Fatso chuckled and slipped the thin booklet into Lu Sheng’s hand. He opened it and began to leaf through the pages, eyes tracing the cramped, clipped characters.
The booklet looked torn from a larger volume; its pages dealt mostly with strength training. The method was called Jade Force. According to the notes, once the technique reached maturity it allowed a practitioner to draw force from the whole body with the very first move—accumulation that could suddenly magnify both speed and striking power.
Lu Sheng scanned the diagrams and annotations. The method did not overlap with the Black Tiger Saber Mantra; the two could be used together without interfering. Still, this wasn’t exactly what he sought. He needed inner-Qi manuals—methods that would thicken his bones, harden his sinews, and steady his mind. After the toll the Modifier had taken on him, he knew his physique was too fragile to bear repeated strain.
“Do you have any of those legendary inner-Qi manuals?” he asked.
Zheng Xiangui rubbed his chin and frowned. “Inner-Qi manuals? Brother Sheng, you’ve put me on the spot. If such things were truly on the market—real ones—they’d vanish the moment someone heard about them.”
“You just said it yourself—fakes are common. Your family runs an auction house; you must keep copies of lots you sell, right?” Lu Sheng pressed. Auction houses preserved sample volumes; the Zheng family should have amassed a number of surviving copies over the years.
Zheng Xiangui’s expression grew cautious. “Those surviving copies… I can’t promise any are genuine. Maybe one in a hundred is real, if we’re lucky. Nobody has ever successfully cultivated Qi from them—at least not that I’ve seen. Are you sure you want to risk it?”
“If something goes wrong you’ll be the one to blame,” he added with a sly, worried smile. “As your brother, I advise you—don’t toy with those copies unless you’re prepared to pay the price.”
Lu Sheng met his gaze. “Can you find any for me?”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. That look on Fatso’s face—hesitant, uneasy—was one he knew all too well. Every time Zheng Xiangui wore that expression, it meant he knew something but was weighing whether to speak.
“Well… I do have a way,” Zheng Xiangui began cautiously. “Brother Sheng, the kind of manual you’re after… there is one like that. It’ll be up for sale in the next auction.” His tone faltered, his face twisting into an awkward grimace.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Lu Sheng’s brows twitched.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to, Brother Sheng. It’s just… this particular manual is going to be auctioned at the Black Meeting.”
“Black Meeting?” Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed, comprehension dawning at once.
The Black Meeting—an underground auction shrouded in secrecy. Every participant concealed their identity, and the items sold were almost always tainted—goods acquired through blood or theft. The sort of crowd that gathered there consisted mostly of outlaws and dangerous men who thrived on the edge of society.
“Can you arrange for me to attend?” Lu Sheng asked, his voice calm but firm.
He had already made up his mind. No ordinary thug would dare provoke someone from Lu Manor.
The Lu family commanded over thirty trained housemen and several skilled fighters like Uncle Zhao among their estate guards. And at the top stood Old Master Lu Quanan—well-connected with the local authorities and even capable of summoning military support if necessary.
With such power behind him, Lu Sheng had little to fear from common gangsters.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.