Ten Directions Sword Master

Chapter 75 must be a member of the Lu family.

"Your swordsmanship is methodical in its advances and retreats, powerful and heavy. If used by someone skilled in spiritual cultivation, it could even purify evil spirits—so you're a lower-ranking candidate who lacks Buddhist affinity and cannot enter Shaolin Temple to learn the Weituo Subduing Demon Sword Technique. Do you agree?"

Lu Li kicked the broadsword, flipped it over into his hand, and said neither praising nor criticizing it.

It was a superior weapon, mixed with a lot of black iron and heavy minerals, and it felt quite heavy to hold.

Ning Xingzhou remained silent, accepted the broadsword handed to him, clasped his hands in a salute, and turned to return to his room.

The origin of Zhenwei Escort Agency's Demon-Subduing Sword Technique is indeed related to Shaolin Temple. His grandfather once saved the seriously injured head of the Arhat Hall by chance.

The head monk recuperated at the Ning family for half a year, during which time he accepted his grandfather as a lay disciple and taught him the Wei Tuo Subduing Demon Sword, one of the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin.

But how could Shaolin's unique skills be passed down as family heirlooms? So they could only piece together a few sword intents and integrate them with their own accumulated knowledge to create the Subduing Demon Sword Technique.

Only the direct descendants of the Ning family would know about this matter. Today, someone pointed it out with a single sentence and even used bamboo chopsticks to make him lose his weapon.

The other person was about the same age as him, and his internal strength was not very strong, so he knew that he had met a master.

Such insight and martial arts prowess can only come from the two temples, three monasteries, and the five great families.

Unable to defeat them but unable to offend them, I was filled with shame and indignation and just wanted to disappear immediately.

"Brother, my name is Du Mocun, my junior sister is Su Qingdai, and my brother Ning is a disciple of Xiaoxi Sword Pavilion. He has a fiery temper and is concerned about the reputation of the escort agency. He has offended us in many ways, please forgive him."

Senior Brother Lin's eyes lit up, and he took the initiative to step forward and introduce himself.

At the same time, they wondered which outstanding person had come to Chungu County and happened to run into them.

Ning Xingzhou may have lost face for his escort agency, but that doesn't stop him from trying to make some connections.

He had fought Ning Xingzhou before, and he was only slightly better than Ning Xingzhou. It would take more than a hundred moves to determine the winner.

He could casually tease with such composure and dignity, displaying the demeanor of a senior master. He was probably among the top twenty on the list of experts.

While chatting, they checked the list of names to see which one best matched.

"It is common for people in the martial arts world to spar and test their skills against each other—Bai Wuming, a native of Jiangxia."

Lu Li smiled gently and then revealed his usual pseudonym.

As for his birthplace, it's not a lie. Pengcheng's ancestors were indeed from Jiangxia, but later moved to Yuzhang County due to war.

Surname Bai? Are there any talented young people with the surname Bai on the list of successful people?

Upon hearing the name, Senior Brother Lin knew that the other party did not want to reveal their true identity. It seems that Xiaoxi Sword Pavilion is still no match for these true disciples of major sects.

The somber mood vanished quickly, and he enthusiastically started a few more conversations.

Even in Wu County, top experts on the Human Ranking are not easy to encounter.

It will leave an impression, and it will be a topic of conversation later in Wucheng.

"The rest of Chun Gu County is fine, I suppose Brother Bai wouldn't be interested in it, but there is a mica mine that produces tens of thousands of catties of mica every year—in special years, small pieces of mica marrow crystals can also be mined, which are spiritual materials that can be used to forge top-grade treasure weapons!"

Senior Brother Lin tried his best to perform, picking out the anecdotes that Abbot Li of Zhenwei Martial Arts School had mentioned yesterday.

He couldn't think of anything else that could arouse the interest of the disciples of the Grand Master.

"Mica pith crystal?"

Lu Li listened attentively. Of all the world's great things, he could only talk about the various sword techniques in general, but he was still lacking in other areas.

"Fifty years ago, a flash flood washed out a piece of mica marrow crystal the size of a fist. At first, no one recognized it and just sold it to the blacksmith shop as a piece of better quality mica."

Seeing that the other party was indeed interested, Senior Brother Lin quickly pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Later, during the forging process, the blacksmith discovered that the furnace fire had been burning for several days and nights without any movement. He invited the master craftsman from the city, only to find that something was wrong. When the news spread, powerful figures from all walks of life gathered in Spring Valley, and a bloody battle ensued, going back and forth several times. In the end, it was that lord from the Privy Council who spoke up and sent him directly to the Imperial Palace."

"More than 20 years ago, a smaller piece of mica marrow crystal was unearthed. At that time, it was already under the control of the Cao Gang. The then leader of the Southeast Altar, now the leader of the Cao Gang, personally escorted the mica marrow crystal back to the gang and forged it into a top-grade treasure-level cleaver."

Divine weapons are hard to find; even grandmasters may not all possess one. High-grade treasure weapons can be considered the pinnacle of all weapons in the world.

Mica marrow crystals have this effect, which is indeed worth the effort of a master cultivator.

"Senior brother, everyone's gone, why are you still craning your neck to look?"

Seeing Du Mocun staring at Bai Wuming's departing figure for a long time without sitting down, Su Qingdai chuckled crisply.

"What do you know? Such a talented young man might become a Refining God Senior the next time we meet—you won't even have a chance to talk to him."

Senior Brother Lin withdrew his gaze, seemingly emerging from the gloom of losing to Jiang Linhai, his eyes shining.

"Didn't you hear Brother Bai talk about the martial arts of various schools and sects? Such demeanor and bearing, how could someone without a top-tier background be so composed and give such an equal assessment? Qingdai, why haven't you said anything? There are no talents of this caliber in Wucheng to associate with."

"Hmph, he doesn't even dare to give his real name; I doubt he's any respectable person!"

Su Qingdai blushed slightly and said.

Senior Brother Lin stopped a waiter, fetched a pot of white tea, and regained the confidence of Young Master Yinmo: "This chat may seem useless, but it actually reveals a lot of information—the two Buddhist temples are definitely out of the question, Louguan is far to the north among the three Taoist temples, Baiyun Temple does not accept lay disciples, Zhenwu Temple is possible, but I have not heard of any particularly outstanding lay disciples in this generation."

"Then we can only choose from the five great families. He said he was from Jiangxia, which reminded me of what Lu Hengjie from Wucheng once told me: the Lu family of Wu County originally came from Pingyuan County. During the war at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, one branch moved to Wu County, and since then, many outstanding people have emerged and the family has flourished."

"At that time, another branch went to live in Jiangxia. After a hundred years, when the Great Chu was established, they returned to the main lineage."

“Disciples of noble families may lie about other things, but they would never make up stories about their ancestral home—this person must be a member of the Lu clan whose ancestors temporarily lived in Jiangxia and then moved south.”

"Coincidentally, there are two young masters of the Lu family on this year's list of successful candidates. I met Lu Hengling, the ninth-ranked young master with the jade flute, with my master. And he is the extremely mysterious Lu Yezhuo, ranked twenty-second!"

Senior Brother Lin delivered a lengthy analysis, feeling quite pleased with himself for his meticulous and insightful observations.

It is indeed not easy to deduce this conclusion from the limited information obtained from a few pleasantries.

"But this young master Bai doesn't speak Wu dialect, so he doesn't seem to have grown up in the Jiangnan region."

Su Qingdai was unconvinced and quickly found a loophole.

"Uh—perhaps Young Master Lu was sent to be trained by some senior master from a young age, so he picked up that accent. Otherwise, how could he be so mysterious, with so few people having seen him?"

Lin, the senior brother, awkwardly put down his teacup, adopted the posture of a senior brother, and said.

"Anyway, ninety percent of them are direct descendants of the Lu family of Wu County. It's not uncommon for such powerful families to deliberately hide their members from the list. Let's go see Ning Xingzhou. We'll leave for Shicheng later. We don't want him to be discouraged and refuse to leave."

「s

What goes around comes around. Just a few days ago, Ning Xingzhou was the one giving advice to Senior Brother Lin, but today the tables have turned.

Thinking of this, Senior Brother Lin's steps became lighter, and he was quite looking forward to it.

"The Canal Gang, mica marrow crystal—"

Back in his room, Lu Li was unaware that after the conversation, he had been given the title of a member of the Lu family of Wu County. He was still thinking about the mica mine that his senior brother Lin had mentioned.

Although they all share the surname Lu, one is Lu from Wu County and the other is Lu from Pengcheng; they are worlds apart.

Just like Shaolin Temple and the small temple outside the town are both Buddhist temples, but no one would think that the two temples can be compared.

"As expected of one of the three major gangs in the world, the Canal Gang's influence extends far and wide, even reaching into the mines of this small town—"

Lu Li was no stranger to the canal gangs. The Lu family of Pengcheng started with cargo transportation at the docks and formed a shipping gang. As the scale grew, they would inevitably have to deal with the canal gangs.

Officially, the Lu family boatmen were considered part of the Grand Canal Gang, and could act under the Grand Canal Gang's name and enjoy its resources in the Lansha River area.

However, a large portion of the fleet's profits must be handed over to the government each year.

Similar patterns occur in every body of water in the Great Chu.

They were directly incorporated, with branch offices established along major rivers and lakes and tributaries.

If they have more autonomy, they'll be like the Lu family's boat gang, considered only as subordinate gangs.

But when it comes to important matters, they still have to listen to the orders of the canal gang.

The claim of a million canal workers is not an exaggeration; the actual number is likely much higher, making it truly the largest canal gang in the world.

Of course, the vast majority of canal workers only held the title of "canal gang"; their main jobs were sailing, transporting goods, dockworkers, and river towers.

Only a small percentage of people truly dedicate themselves to rigorous martial arts training and roam the martial arts world.

"The Nebula Palace can upgrade my Sun-Covering Sword into a treasure weapon. If I gather all the materials, I can ask it to forge it directly. That way, the success rate will be higher, and I won't have to find a reliable weapon-forging master, incur favors, or wait for a year or two."

Because of the topic of mica marrow crystals, Lu Li thought of the Sun-Covering Sword.

If this plan is feasible, it will provide another safe and reliable way to obtain the treasure.

It's more convenient than directly exchanging merit points or obtaining them in the real world.

The next day, while Lu Li was having breakfast, two disciples from Xiaoxi Sword Pavilion came to say goodbye, saying they were going to Shicheng to celebrate the birthday of a senior.

He simply nodded slightly without responding.

After finishing the tea and snacks, he went straight back to his room. The compass on the back of his hand had already formed a nebula and started to spin.

After closing the door, I set up two simple mechanisms and silently recited a command.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the Nebula Palace.

"The raging waves will remain in the hall. For now, we'll only take one weapon, the Cicada's Cry—the Great Rejuvenation Pill has already been used up, so we need to exchange for another one. As for this piece of Taiyin Pure Gold—"

Lu Li hesitated slightly in front of the Nebula Hall. Taiyin Plain Gold could be used to refine soft swords and inner armor. Judging from the merit value of the repurchase, it must be a treasure-grade material.

However, given the possibility of heading to a completely new Compass World, the more sensible choice would be to convert merits into combat power.

"Even if the mission world is a floating island, there are still unpredictable dangers—during those six months with the Seclusion Talisman, I was too deeply involved with the Tide Sound Martial Arts School, and there might be additional trouble. If I can't come out of the Compass World alive, there's no point in keeping the Taiyin Pure Gold."

T

Having already thought of several ways to obtain the treasure weapon, Lu Li quickly made up his mind.

With the Taiyin Sujin being taken away by the Xingyun Hall, the merit points reached an unprecedented height of 1,770.