Madam, please listen to my explanation.

Chapter 131 Sang Biao
"Meow-"

As we stepped out of the city gate, the fat cat on my shoulder immediately let out a joyful cheer.

Xu Jinhuan was originally thinking about whether to get a sea stone chain to tie it up. After all, once they left the capital, there would be no more 24/7 surveillance. If the cat got lost, wouldn't everything be over?
But a certain unscrupulous general told himself that he had put something in the fish he had just fed to the cat, so there was no need to worry about it running away.

Putting everything else aside, their animal taming skills are absolutely trustworthy.
Moreover, no matter whether I walk or jump, fast or slow, the other person always clings tightly to my clothes, as if they are more worried about losing them than I am about to lose them.

Never mind.

Walking around with a cat is already strange enough, but to then seriously bring along a leash only raises suspicion!
Seeing Xu Jinhuan's puzzled look, Fatty Orange meowed again with a grin.

'Finally, I'm away from that devil! From now on, I can spend time alone with my husband. Just thinking about it...'

"Your real name isn't Wu Yao, is it?"

"Meow~"

Sir, have you finally discovered something?

The fat cat's eyes were full of stars.

Very good!
As long as I don't explicitly remind him, and he discovers it on his own, it cannot be considered a breach of promise.
"Forget it, your real name doesn't matter. From now on, you'll be called Sang Biao."

boom--

Sang. Biao!
Those two simple words completely shattered Fat Cat's psychological defenses.

Enraged, it roared at the top of its lungs:
"Meow!"

"You really like it? I think it's good too, so I've decided!"

No, meow!

Sir, sir, have you forgotten that I'm a girl, meow!
-
Several days later, in Yuzhou, at Cangjian Manor.

Xu Jinhuan arrived at the canyon below the sheer cliff and stared blankly at the towering three-tiered black iron gate in the center.

uncanny workmanship!

No wonder there's no need to send anyone to guard the area at the foot of the mountain.

Even if Zhou Jin himself came, he probably wouldn't be able to push open this giant gate that is over a hundred feet tall.

The eighteen black gold sword figurines on both sides have ferocious faces that inspire awe.

Even though they were far apart, they could still feel the surging heat from the strange flames they held in their hands.

It's hard to imagine how that Master Wu could create such a human-shaped terracotta figure, hundreds of times larger than himself, using only manpower.

Is this the power of money?
With a sigh of admiration, Xu Jinhuan stepped onto the bluestone steps covered with remnants of sword tempering.

A rumbling sound suddenly filled his ears. He looked up and saw the three towering gates, each a hundred feet high, opening to the sides on their own.

Boom——

The ground beneath his feet stopped trembling. At the end of his vision, Wu Jiuchi stood with his hands behind his back at the top of the bluestone steps, his face flickering in the firelight on both sides.

"Wu"

Before the words were even finished, the other person had already vanished from the spot.

???

Xu Jinhuan looked bewildered, and before he could even put down the sangbiao on his shoulder, a strong wind was already blowing in his face.

Ding--!
In a moment of haste, he crossed his arms to protect himself. A sharp aura pressed against his arms, almost piercing through his body, which had been tempered by dragon energy!

Looking up, Old Master Wu was already in front of me.

His hair and beard stood on end, and he pressed the index and middle fingers of one hand together firmly against his body.

Xu Jinhuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

What a sharp sword!

"Ho!"

A huge sun suddenly appeared behind him, and Xu Jinhuan's aura instantly increased!

A surge of scorching heat burst forth, forcefully pushing away the opponent's sword-like fingers.

"it is good!"

A hint of approval appeared in the old man's eyes. He stepped back slightly and pointed again!
boom!
This finger strike is even more powerful than the one before!

Xu Jinhuan was pushed back several steps by this immense force, and the bluestone beneath his feet was instantly cracked.

So strong!

In just one exchange, Wu Jiuchi's power completely surpassed that of Song Yu, who was known as the sixth on the Earth Ranking!

With great effort, Xu Jinhuan looked up and saw that the other person was still standing at the top of the stone steps, as if they had not moved an inch from beginning to end.

At this point, Xu Jinhuan was absolutely certain that his opponent had not used their full strength at all!
With his hands still behind his back, he said loudly:

"My good son, in such a short time, your cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds to such a level!"
At this rate, next time we meet, even Dad might not be a match for you.

Xu Jinhuan shook his slightly numb wrist.

He had thought that Wu Jiuchi was strong, but he never imagined that he would be this strong!

When he sparred with Zhou Jin in Kyoto that day, he thought he had overestimated his opponent.

Looking back now, I realize that in the other person's eyes, tidying up was probably as casual as children playing house.
Why is there such a large gap between these peak sixth-rank cultivators?
There must be some unknown secrets waiting to be discovered.

"Master Wu, was Yun Ci injured in the sword furnace?"

He came here because he was worried about that silly girl and wanted to visit her.

Seeing Wu Jiuchi make a move right away, Xu Jinhuan's heart sank.

Shouldn't it be.
It makes no sense. This old scoundrel, although he is a good father, is genuinely good to every adopted son and daughter. How could he let Yun Ci go to his death?

Wu Jiuchi's lips curled up slightly: "Oh? I didn't realize you had a conscience after all."

"If you really want to know, you'd better pay back the debt you owe me first!"

Xu Jinhuan instantly understood what the other person was talking about. He had promised to let him personally experience the sword strike he had unleashed when he killed Ning Caixie!
Although, due to his low cultivation level, the wisp of sword energy that Gu Niaoniao gave him that day did not exceed the limit of a sixth-grade cultivator.

But the opponent, presumably through the perspective of the raven, saw something hidden behind that sword strike that he himself could not see.
"What's wrong? Now that you can easily kill even Song Yu, you can no longer unleash such a brilliant sword strike?"

With his robes fluttering, Wu Jiuchi looked down at the man and asked.

Xu Jinhuan slightly opened his right hand, and ice crystal fragments gradually gathered towards his palm.

"Master Wu, to be honest, the power that the Imperial Preceptor once sealed in my sea of ​​consciousness has almost dissipated."

But now, with my own strength, I can unleash a strike no weaker than that one from back then.

As the shattered jade solidified in his palm, the intense heat in the canyon noticeably decreased in an instant.

"Once this sword is drawn, even I cannot stop it."
"Master Wu, please catch this!"

"Hahaha, this is what I've been waiting for. No need to hold back and come at me with your full strength, kid!"

A flash of icy blue light appeared in Xu Jinhuan's eyes.

As it was exhaled, large swathes of frost were brought out.

At this moment, his heart was as still as water, and he kept recalling the trajectory of Gu Niaoniao's sword strike.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, that minuscule wisp of power was stirred, flowing throughout his body along the trajectory of the 'Frost Heaven Technique'.

Whoosh-!
Xu Jinhuan's figure instantly transformed into an ice-blue rainbow, spanning a distance of a hundred feet and leaving a thick layer of frost on the ground.

The old man's beard and hair instantly flew up, visibly turning a snow-white color.

His aged eyes flashed with a sharp light!
The blood in his body rushed through his veins, and his flesh, which had withstood the test of more than a hundred years, felt a throbbing he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Well come!
Ever since I emerged from the sword furnace, this body has not experienced such jubilation in a long time!
The awe-inspiring sword light before them, though still not exceeding the power of the sixth-grade realm.

However, the cold air it exudes is no longer within the scope of the body's Qi Sea power!
This young man, despite being only a fifth-rank cultivator, subtly stirred up a trace of the primordial energy of heaven and earth!

This is exactly what he wants!

It is the supreme method by which those predecessors who broke through the barrier between heaven and man, with a vision far beyond their own, mastered the power that does not belong to the human body!

Wu Jiuchi remained motionless as the giant sword that blotted out the sky slammed down from the sword-wielding terracotta warrior beside him!
boom--!
The giant sword clashed with the sword's edge, and the resulting turbulent currents caused the eternal flame in the terracotta warrior's hand to teeter on the brink of extinction.

Large cracks instantly appeared on the giant sword, and at the same time, it was gradually shattering the sword light in front of it.

The two forces were locked in a stalemate. Wisps of cold air seeped into Wu Jiuchi's body, but his eyes grew increasingly fanatical!

clang!
A moment later, the sword's edge dissipated.

The giant sword clashed with the shattered jade, and in a single exchange, it was shattered into countless fragments.

The tip of the sword, emanating a chilling aura, was less than half an inch from his brow when it finally came to an abrupt stop.

Wu Jiuchi's arms were covered with a layer of white frost, and his feet were firmly frozen to the ground by a layer of solid ice.

His face, however, showed an unprecedented level of excitement.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Good lad, well done! But don't worry, although Xiao Ci is reckless, as her father, I can't let her go to her death."

Seeing that I couldn't dissuade her, I had a suit of armor custom-made for her, no less powerful than His Majesty's. With this armor on, even if her body tempering progress might be slightly slower, she would be absolutely safe. Rest assured!

With a wave of his hand, Wu Jiuchi's entire body of ice shattered inch by inch.

"It's okay."

With the other party's promise, Xu Jinhuan felt somewhat at ease.

The shattered jade dissipated once more, and Xu Jinhuan's eyes slowly returned to their normal color.

Just now, he looked extremely imposing, but in reality, he was suffering in silence.

Even though he had shattered the giant sword wielded by the opponent, his internal organs were almost frozen into ice shards.
A great sun reappeared behind him, and warm currents flowed continuously through his internal organs, relieving his injuries.

Having experienced melting candied hawthorns, he now wields heat with ease.

A moment later, he exhaled a breath of stale air.

This sword strike was indeed a bit too much for him now.

"Young man, although Xiao Ci is not seriously injured, he cannot come out to see you right now, otherwise all the suffering he has endured these past few days will have been in vain."

"I understand. I'm relieved to see that everything is alright."

He made a special detour to Yuzhou just to check on the safety of that silly girl. Since she was alright, there was no need to stay any longer.

"By the way, Master Wu, in order to prevent problems from arising in our painstakingly built intelligence network, we still need to send a quick-thinking person to Kyoto, as the center and hub, to oversee it."

Wu Jiuchi nodded.

I have to admit that, after Ning Qian's downfall, the power of the "public opinion" and "guidance" that the other side mentioned was even better than I had imagined!
"Go with peace of mind. Before Xiao Ci comes out of seclusion, Liu Zi will take over the affairs in Kyoto and handle them properly."

Enjoy yourself! In order to seize that moment of enlightenment, I am going into seclusion immediately. With that transmigration ring in my hand, you can go anywhere in the manor without anyone stopping you.
By the way, if you're in a hurry to get to the southern border, I'll summon a raven to give you a ride, just like I did when I went to Tongzhou last time!

"No need! Master Wu, you just go into seclusion and don't need to worry about it."

After all, while ravens are fast travelers, the young man fears that the moment he steps out of the spatial rift, he'll be instantly killed by the aftershocks of a clash between seventh-rank experts.

Wu Jiuchi was a shrewd man; he knew that the other party might have ulterior motives for doing this, so he didn't press the matter further.

His eyes darted around, and a dark light flashed on the transmigration ring in his hand that was exactly the same as Xu Jinhuan's.

The next moment, a four-foot-long green sword appeared in his palm.

"When you're out and about, the Broken Jade is too conspicuous, and it doesn't suit the manifestation of your extremely masculine and virtuous consciousness. Take this!"

It was quite heavy, and Xu Jinhuan's eyes suddenly lit up!
Even without drawing his sword, one could tell that the item this richest man in the Great Yan Dynasty was about to part with was no ordinary treasure!

Before I could even say thank you, the other person's figure had already turned into a blur and gradually disappeared.

"No need for thanks. Come and have a drink with us when you return from the Southern Frontier!"

Are you leaving already?
Xu Jinhuan scratched his head.

Looking at the vast and prosperous foundation of Hidden Sword Manor before him, he had originally considered whether to bow down and proclaim himself his godfather.
(End of this chapter)