Spirit Cultivation

Liu Xuefeng continued to stay in his room as he tried to decide what to do next. Normally, he should learn more about cultivation since it was something he hadn't known really existed until after coming here. But, there would be someone to explain the basics to him tomorrow, so he guessed, there was no need to think about it now.

With this idea in mind, he tried to look around the room again as he hadn't had the time to inspect it enough earlier. Speaking of time…

Liu Xuefeng's gaze locked on a very peculiar contraption attached to the wall. It looked like a wooden board with an arrangement in it similar to a sundial, but the way it glowed told him that it was powered by something like magic – or energy, in the case of this world. In any case, he really believed this was some sort of a clock.

He was correct.

He racked his brain for the original's memory, and yes, it was indeed a timepiece. It read three in the afternoon, three hours before sunset.

Hmmmn…

There was still some time before the sky turned dark, and Xuefeng believed it's a good idea to check out the clan and the city. He had memories of both, but it's still better if he took a look, himself.

"Wuying, I want to go out to take a stroll in the city," he informed the servant who visibly brightened.

"That's a good idea! You need to move a little now that you recovered," she gushed as she stepped forward to brazenly take his hand and started pulling him towards the door.

"Err…"

Xuefeng coughed to cover his awkwardness. Each time the girl did something, his heart lurch in his chest because of the original's remnants within him. It was most difficult when she touched him so freely like this.

On the other hand, the girl appeared to be oblivious to his discomfort and continued to hold on to him. But she stopped and turned to him, blushing hard as she slightly lowered her head and murmured.

"I just wanted to thank you for defending my name yesterday," she began breathily. "You were injured because of me"

Oh. That.

Xuefeng remembered the original's cause of death. It was because of her. But he was not blaming her. After all, he wouldn't be here if that did not happen. Instead, he decided to voice out his awkwardness.

"W-well, I accept your thanks. But could we not hold hands? It's embarrassing to walk like this when everyone can see," he pointed out.

It would be a good idea if this girl would keep a distance. But he was totally misunderstood.

"So, you won't mind if no one is watching?" She looked at him shyly.

"Err…"

Xuefeng was rendered speechless. He tried to say something but words wouldn't come out. He couldn't do anything else but stare at her cute face. He was about to open his mouth to finally say something when she placed a finger against his lips, silencing him.

"I will take that as a yes. Also," she went on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek without warning. "This is another reward for defending my name yesterday."

The way she said those words was playful – flirty even with her eyes dancing in mischief as she turned around and left the room ahead of him.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he realized that she was something that's very difficult to resist. He could fight the original's lingering feelings, but if it would leave him exhausted, he'd better give up.

"Forget it…"

In any case, he just came here and everything's new and somewhat overwhelming. It's best if he kept himself calm. Trivial things such as the original's old crush shouldn't be his priority.

"Are you coming?" Wuying's voice called out from the crack on the door.

"Yes I am," he called back, and he moved to follow her outside.

Whoa…

The sight of the huge courtyard welcomed him as soon as he stepped out. Being the son of the clan leader did have some advantages. He had access to a lot of things and was even able to live in a more comfortable place compared to the others.

Unfortunately, his status as the son of the leader couldn't stop the ridicule he received from his peers. Being the only one in the clan with a broken dantian, many youngsters loved to pester and bully the original Xuefeng. Honestly, the current him was even prepared to hear insults flying his way as soon as he stepped out.

In this world where individual strength was everything, without cultivation, one was considered a useless person. He couldn't blame the others for ridiculing the original as it was how this world worked. It was the norm. Then again, it seemed to be his lucky day as he was spared.

After they left his courtyard, they headed towards the clan territory entrance. As they were passing the training grounds, they could see many youngsters practising their skills. Stopping for a moment to watch, he was amazed.

WHOOOSH!

A guy swung his sword and crescent-shaped light appeared at the end, catapulting towards the wooden puppets ahead, slashing it around the chest upon impact.

"Amazing..." Xuefeng watched with interest and in awe. He felt thrilled and impatient to start cultivating on his own.

Wuying saw him watching so she stopped next to him and started explaining.

"That's Liu Yong. He is currently a Peak Spirit Master. He possesses two spirits artefacts – a weapon and armour. The one you see is a rank two Spirit Sword called Air Cutter. It's quite uncommon. There are only a few of them in the clan."

"You need to kill a beast to get one artefact, right?" He scanned through his memories, but only found some basic information.

"Yes." Wuying nodded as she continued to answer. "Spirit weapons are actually the remains of the beast spirit. For example, if you kill a rank two White Sparrow, there is a possibility that you can get an Air Cutter. Unfortunately, only one out of ten White Sparrows can give a spirit artefact."

"I see…"

Xuefeng nodded in acknowledgement, all the while scolding himself for having less knowledge about things than the servant. Regardless that he couldn't cultivate, the original should still have knowledge about these things, right?

"When we take our stroll in the city, we can drop by the Spirit Artifacts House, and see some interesting things," Wuying proposed.

Xuefeng, of course, was more than happy to agree. He was very curious about the artefacts and would like to see everything he could.

"Sure, let's go."

They finally stopped watching the people at the training grounds and headed for the gate.

The Liu clan's territory was located in the middle of the city. Most of the shops and restaurants were also located in the center.

As they were passing through the gate, they saw two guards at the entrance. When the two men spotted them, they instantly became alert and straightened their backs.

"Miss Wuying, Young master." They bowed as they let them pass.

Xuefeng thought it was normal, because from his memories, each time the real Liu Xuefeng went somewhere with Wuying, guards would bow to them and lower their heads. He thought that it was because he was the young master, but he was wrong.

Well, even the Xuefeng now had no idea that it was not because of him that the guards were snappy and alert. If only he would carefully look at the guards' eyes, before they lowered their heads he would be able to see deep fear instilled in them.

Unknown to him, it was all because of the woman who was acting sweet next to him all along.

Normally, people in the clan wouldn't know this, as it was a guarded secret. But how could guards not know who Wuying was? She was the one who trained them!

Only the best of the best could join the Liu clan's Shadow Guards. They were authorized to kill anyone who they think was harmful to the clan. They were the hidden force of the Liu clan.

Many years ago, there were other powerful clans in Phoenix City. But after Liu Xiaobei created the Shadow Guards, they were completely suppressed. Most of them had already relocated to other cities and the Liu clan was the only big clan left.

Of course, there were still some other forces in the city like the Trade Union which had branches everywhere, but they didn't interfere in the power struggles between the clans inside the cities. All they cared about were profits.

As soon as Xuefeng and Wuying disappeared around the corner, the two scared guards could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"If I didn't take the Shadow Guard's test, I would think she was a normal, cheerful girl. She can act in front of the Young Master, for sure," the shorter guard said.

"Shhh! Are you tired of living? What if she hears you? Our next training would be a nightmare," the other warned him, clamping a hand on his comrade's mouth as he glanced nervously at the direction where the two disappeared earlier, checking if the young woman was still there to hear them.

With that sentence, they both stopped talking for a second. They tried to remember this week's training and a chill ran down their spines, and they shuddered.

"By the way, how long did you last in this month's Shadow Guard's test? I thought I can make it this time, but I had to give up on the second day."

The shorter one spoke about the monthly evaluation for ordinary guards to be promoted to Shadow Guards. Each month, those who were interested to join the elite force of the Liu clan had to undergo different strengths and skills evaluation for seven days. Tests got tougher each day, and only those who made it to the last day would succeed.

"I lasted for three days this time. It's better than before, but because I overexerted my body, I had to lie in bed for three days," the second one sighed.

"Did anyone pass the test this time?"

"Yes, but only one. It was that guy who they said was the strongest," the other answered, with envy ringing in his voice.

It was every guard's dream to be a part of the elite force, and anyone who was able to pass the test was deemed a great person.

"Maybe if we cultivate like crazy we can make it next time," he added wistfully, but they knew that it was a near-impossible feat.

There was only so much one could do with the little energy they could gather in a short period of time. This was why the sweet-looking woman who was leading that elite force was a scary person to them.

"Maybe…"