Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Xie Ning obediently drew her sword and tossed it to Zhou Chu.

Xie Qi watched from the side, her lips twitching.

The Xie family instilled in their members from a young age the importance of unity between man and sword, and cherishing the sword as if it were their own life.

These are words ingrained in the Xie family.

Xie Ning actually lent her sword to a wild boy she had only known for a few days, showing utter disregard for family rules.

After the competition, we must teach her a good lesson.

"Boy, make your move." Xie Qi stood with his sword on his back, as if victory was assured.

Zhou Chu extended his left index finger and swung it from side to side:

"You go first, I'll give you three rounds."

"Arrogant!" Xie Qi no longer held back, brandishing his sword and lunging forward to strike Zhou Chu in the throat.

Zhou Chu used the Dragon Elephant Fist technique, his body moving like a swimming dragon, to avoid a fatal blow.

Xie Qi turned his sword around and thrust it towards Zhou Chu's left chest.

Zhou Chu dodged again.

Xie Qi swung his sword down but missed, then raised it upwards.

"You want to make me childless?" Zhou Chu was startled and took two steps back to dodge.

After three rounds of probing, Xie Qi had figured out Zhou Chu's movement techniques.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, twirled it into a large arc, and thrust it at Zhou Chu.

As Zhou Chu watched the large clusters of sword flowers rush towards him, he couldn't tell which were illusions and which were real.

So he quickly took two steps back, creating distance between himself and Xie Qi, threw the sword into the air, and controlled it with a hand seal with his right hand.

The sword transformed into ten sword energies in the air, suddenly falling and piercing Xie Qi, instantly neutralizing his sword flourish.

"Young Master Xie, be careful!" Zou Jin shouted from outside.

He overheard martial artists saying that Zhou Chu used immortal techniques when dealing with the wild boar monster. He thought it was just them bragging, but it turned out to be true.

"This is... the Taixu Sword Technique?" Xie Qi stood there dumbfounded.

The Taixu Sword Technique, which even the most powerful families in the capital had studied for decades without being able to comprehend, was actually mastered by this young man.

How could that be? No matter how talented an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy from the mountains is, he couldn't possibly comprehend it.

"Are we still fighting?" Zhou Chu asked, sheathing his sword.

"You..." Xie Qi walked up to Zhou Chu and asked, "Where did you learn swordsmanship?"

Zhou Chu looked at Xie Ning outside the courtyard, only to see Xie Ning shaking her head repeatedly.

So he replied, "The Taoist Jiling."

Since the body of the Taoist Jiling had vanished without a trace and there was no way to verify his story, Zhou Chu could say whatever he wanted.

Since the Dragon Elephant Fist and Dragon Form Guiding Exercise were taught by Ji Ling Dao Ren, it wouldn't be a problem for him to teach another sword technique.

Xie Qi sheathed his sword: "Is Ji Ling Daoist your master?"

I guess so.

Where is he now?

"have no idea."

At this moment, Zou Jin saw that the two had stopped fighting, so he walked in and said:

"Master Jiling is a registered martial artist in Wuyang City. I heard that he taught a disciple when he was suppressing demons here back then."

"Where is he now? Take me to him quickly!" Xie Qi said anxiously.

"I'm afraid we can't find him," Zou Jin said, shaking his head. "Last month, Daoist Jiling mysteriously disappeared, and we still don't know where he is."

"Never mind, if we can't find a master, having this disciple is good too." Xie Qi turned to Zhou Chu: "Would you be willing to return to the capital with me?"

"What would I do with you in the capital?"

"Become a retainer of the Xie family and guide the Xie family's disciples in comprehending the Taixu Sword Technique."

"Not interested," Zhou Chu refused.

What kind of retainer? It's just asking me to go back and be a tutor.

Only a dog would do that.

Upon hearing this, Xie Qi's gaze towards Zhou Chu changed.

Did we underestimate this kid?

Being a retainer of the Xie family was equivalent to qualifying as a scholar.

Many of the prefects of various counties in the Great Yan Kingdom were originally retainers of the Xie family.

Even Zou Jin was recommended to be the governor of Wuyang only after serving as a retainer in the Xie family for several years.

Others would fight tooth and nail to get their hands on it, but this kid refused without even thinking.

Xie Qi said, "Even if you're not interested, you have to come back to the capital with me."

"What, you think you can kidnap me?" Zhou Chu was always one to respond to gentle persuasion but not force.

What's wrong with the Xie family? I didn't eat any of their rice.

"You're lucky, kid. A powerful figure in the capital has taken a liking to you." Xie Qi pulled a scroll of silk from his sleeve and unfolded it in front of Zhou Chu, saying:

"The Crown Prince's edict: Zhou Chu, a martial arts expert from Wuyang, is hereby ordered to depart for the capital immediately and come to see me without delay."

Zhou Chu was quite surprised. The Crown Prince? To see me?

Could it be that they've heard of my glorious deeds and want to bestow an official title upon me?

"So? Are you going or not?" Xie Qi handed the order to Zhou Chu.

"Go, why shouldn't I go?" Zhou Chu put away the edict and asked again, "Since the Crown Prince wants to see me, you even invited me to be your retainer. You've got some nerve, openly poaching the Crown Prince's talent."

Although Xie Qi didn't know what "poaching" meant, she understood the meaning behind Zhou Chu's words:

"So what? Following the Crown Prince is not as promising as following our Xie family."

Zhou Chu scoffed at these words, but Zou Jin wholeheartedly agreed.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

A shout outside drew Zhou Chu and the others' attention.

Two soldiers then pushed Xie Ning, who was bound hand and foot, into the courtyard.

One of the soldiers said, "Second Young Master, the young lady tried to run away, but we tied her up and brought her back."

"Well done. If you run away again, tie you up like this again." Xie Qi took out a silver ingot and tossed it to the soldier: "Here's a reward for you two to have some wine."

The two soldiers were overjoyed to see the silver, said "Thank you, young master" and left happily.

Xie Qi stepped forward and untied Xie Ning's ropes: "Little sister, be a good girl and come back to the capital with me."

Xie Ning collapsed to the ground, sobbing with snot and tears streaming down her face:

"No, I'm going back to marry an old man. If you force me, I'll kill myself right now."

"You're the one who wouldn't want to commit suicide," Xie Qi said disdainfully, knowing her sister's temperament.

"I was the one who secretly released you that day. Now, as long as I take you back, I'll have an explanation to give to my family. As for whether you marry the Crown Prince or not, I won't care. Even if you run away again, it's none of my business."

Seeing that Xie Ning still wouldn't leave, he said again:

"Don't worry, I won't make you get married right away when we get back. In a few days, the Crown Prince will lead his troops north to conquer the barbarians, and he won't be back for at least a year or two. Also, this kid is coming to the capital with me."

Xie Ning turned to look at Zhou Chu, who nodded. She then stood up and said to Xie Qi:

"I'll go back with you."

Xie Qi saw everything and sighed inwardly: "Girls really are hard to keep once they grow up."

Lu Meng overheard their conversation outside, then ran up to Zhou Chu, looking dejected, and said:

"Master, are you leaving?"

"Okay, we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning." Zhou Chu patted Lu Meng's head and said.

"I've taught you everything I needed to. From now on, it's up to you to work hard and cultivate yourself."

As he spoke, he took a booklet from his pocket and handed it to Lu Meng:

"This booklet contains my cultivation insights. You can take it out and read it when you encounter bottlenecks in your cultivation in the future."

"Take good care of your sister Xu Yao for me. If anyone dares to bully you, fight them if you can, and if you can't, go find the fox fairy sister for help."

With tears welling up in his eyes, Lu Meng nodded vigorously.

"Why are you crying? Once I've settled in the capital, I'll take you there to see for yourselves."

"Master, take me with you then," Zhou Yue said with a grin, leaning closer.

"Practice your skills properly." Zhou Chu flicked Zhou Yue on the head, making him cry out in pain as he clutched his head.

Lu Meng was clever and sensible, and had a good relationship with the fox spirit, so Zhou Chu wasn't worried about him. He was only worried about Xu Yao, who was all alone.

Zhou Chu looked up at Xu Yao, who forced a smile and said:

"Brother Zhou Chu, go without worry. The fox spirit wants me to become a shaman..."