Chapter 53: You Must Keep It Safe

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: You Must Keep It Safe

Fluttering bamboo leaves, wrapped in Spiritual Power, smashed against a stone wall. The wall was unharmed, but the leaves instantly disintegrated.

[Flying Flower Skill: Beginner, 0/500]

’Picking Flowers and Flying Leaves... a technique born from combining hidden weapon arts with Spiritual Power. Just as I thought, once you reach the Beginner level, there’s no such thing as being unsuited for a skill.’

Liu Chen wasn’t disappointed by the skill’s power. This was only the Beginner level; it was bound to get stronger.

Even in an emergency, before he cultivated the Flying Flower Skill to a High Realm, he could simply pour in more Spiritual Power to increase its lethality. However, if his mastery of the skill was lacking, he might miss his target.

’For me, I don’t need to deliberately pursue lethality with the Flying Flower Skill. As long as it can disrupt my opponent, that’s enough.’

Liu Chen considered this carefully, and a clear path for improving the Flying Flower Skill formed in his mind.

However, Liu Chen didn’t continue practicing the Flying Flower Skill. Instead, he took out his Bamboo Sword from his Storage Ring. It was time to practice his sword.

After he performed the Sword Dance twice, phantasmal lotuses once again appeared in the bamboo forest. This time, however, they seemed more tangible. From a distance, it looked as if a lotus flower were quietly blooming, but each of its petals was a lethal strand of Sword Qi.

[Cyan Lotus Demon-Slaying Sword Upper Chapter: Beginner, 4/500]

’It only has the essence of the lotus, not the soul of demon-slaying. Either my training is insufficient, or the key lies in the missing part of the swordsmanship. Once I cultivate this swordsmanship to the Perfection Realm, I’ll have to find a way to ask the Grand Elder if there’s a continuation.’

He had successfully reached the Beginner level with the Cyan Lotus Demon-Slaying Sword, but Liu Chen didn’t feel his usual joy. He once thought this swordsmanship was incredibly profound, possibly the Grand Elder’s ultimate technique, but on second thought, that seemed unlikely. The rate at which he was now gaining Proficiency only served to prove it.

It wasn’t that Liu Chen was entirely unhappy, but he certainly didn’t feel the same excitement he had when he first encountered this swordsmanship.

The bamboo leaves trembled slightly, and the last strand of Sword Qi dissipated into the twilight.

After Liu Chen stopped practicing his sword, Bai Qiulan slowly opened her eyes in the Bamboo Garden and let out a resigned sigh.

Liu Chen was Mo Xuan’s treasured disciple, so of course she had to keep an eye on him. But the more she perceived the state of his sword practice, the more complicated her already sour mood became.

Mo Xuan had already been a Pride of Heaven, the likes of which Purple Bamboo Peak—and even the entire Purple Cloud Valley—hadn’t seen in centuries. Considering the Mo Family backing him, that seemed normal enough. But Liu Chen... he was well and truly an orphan.

She once thought it would be impossible for any student to surpass a master like Mo Xuan. Aside from his own innate talent, the foundation Mo Xuan had laid back in the Mo Family was also incredibly firm. And then Mo Xuan had brought Liu Chen home.

Ever since Liu Chen had completed his half-month stint as a Body Tempering Beginner, he would do something every few days that left both her and Mo Xuan speechless.

He could easily do things that even they hadn’t been able to accomplish in the Body Tempering Realm. He picked up all sorts of Magic with casual ease, not to mention his talent for Swordsmanship was nearly on par with Mo Xuan’s back in the day. On top of all that, his cultivation talent was even greater than Mo Xuan’s.

And putting aside all his accomplishments in cultivation, the boy was also a Spirit Chef—a Second Grade Spirit Chef, no less. When Liu Chen had first become a Spirit Chef, she and Mo Xuan had even planned to invite their friends over, hoping to introduce him and help him build some connections.

But before they could even start writing the invitations, he had become a Second Grade Spirit Chef—the one and only Second Grade Spirit Chef in the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Such a person would be a revered existence in any dynasty, Sect, or family in the Profound Nether Province.

"Linglong... are people like you and me really worthy of such a Pride of Heaven?"

Bai Qiulan’s gaze shifted to her disciple, Ye Linglong. Putting aside the girl’s complicated background, she saw a reflection of herself in Ye Linglong. Both of them, through a chance encounter, had met a senior martial brother whose talent could only be described as monstrous.

Perhaps Ye Linglong herself didn’t think much of it, but Bai Qiulan had also started out seeing Mo Xuan as just a senior martial brother. In the end, however, they had become dao companions.

The reason was very simple: after meeting Mo Xuan, no one else could compare. When he expressed his desire for them to become dao companions, she had willingly thrown herself into the deep pit.

On most days, it was fine. But whenever someone from the Mo Family appeared, she grew nervous. No one knew the Mo Family’s true attitude. All the great families within the Great Xia Dynasty had their share of messy affairs, to say nothing of the Mo Family, which was tens, even hundreds of times larger than the entire Purple Cloud Valley.

"What are you muttering about?"

While Bai Qiulan was still lost in thought, Mo Xuan appeared beside her. He picked up the cup of Spirit Tea in front of her and drained it in one gulp, an expression of pleasure on his face.

"I’m dying of thirst. If the Grand Elder hadn’t helped out, I’d probably still be busy for a few more days."

Mo Xuan picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. Only then did he slowly sit down in his original spot. The moment he was seated, his gaze fell upon the Ink-Colored Jade Bracelet on the table.

The moment he saw it, the teacup in Mo Xuan’s hand slipped from his grasp, shattering on the ground. The broken pieces and spilled tea left him in a rather sorry state.

"Here. Your sister gave it to me. It sounds like it has something to do with the Lady of the House. You’d better keep it safe."

Bai Qiulan looked at him with a helpless expression, pushing the Ink-Colored Jade Bracelet across the table.

"This is a bracelet that only the Patriarch’s dao companion can possess. Besides being a symbol of status, it’s a Magical Artifact that was forged at the very founding of the Mo Family. Empowered by each successive generation, it can be considered one of the cornerstones of the Mo Family’s power."

Mo Xuan took the bracelet and examined it closely. After confirming it was his mother’s token, he sliced open his palm and gripped the bracelet with his bloodied left hand.

"I, Mo Xuan, activate the Dark Moon Bracelet with the blood of the Patriarch’s heir."

As Mo Xuan spoke in a somewhat over-the-top tone, Bai Qiulan noticed that his blood was being absorbed by the Jade Bracelet. Faint golden dragon markings appeared on the once-plain bracelet.

The sight made Bai Qiulan stare for a few moments longer. Then, she noticed Mo Xuan looking at her with a somewhat reproachful gaze.

"What?"

Bai Qiulan couldn’t help but ask. She was already a bit resentful that Mo Xuan had never revealed anything about the Mo Family to her, and after his introduction just now, she felt even more annoyed.

"Blood Recognition."

Mo Xuan felt a little weak. It was true that the Jade Bracelet was used by the Lady of the House, but for it to recognize a master, two steps were required: first, the blood of the Mo Family’s Patriarch had to activate the bracelet, and then the dao companion had to infuse their own blood. Only then could the recognition be completed.

Bai Qiulan glanced at him. Although she said nothing, her eyes softened. She cut her palm and allowed her blood to be absorbed by the Jade Bracelet. In the next second, faint golden phoenix markings appeared on the ink-colored bracelet.

A strange sensation washed over her. The moment the phoenix and dragon markings covered the Jade Bracelet, it left Mo Xuan’s palm and landed squarely in Bai Qiulan’s hand. A steady stream of blood flowed into the bracelet, and after a cycle of transformation, flowed back into Bai Qiulan’s body.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, which felt odd.

"Lady Mo, let’s get you to bed."

Before Bai Qiulan could even process what was happening, Mo Xuan swept her into his arms and carried her toward the bamboo house.