Chapter 21 - 20: Red Entry Acquired

Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Red Entry Acquired

It was already dark by the time he returned to the Lu Mansion.

The lanterns on the eaves swayed gently in the evening breeze.

Lu Jing’an went straight to the study.

He closed his eyes and reviewed the information he had gathered today.

The Li Family had openly brought forty men this time.

They didn’t bring many firearms, only a dozen or so in total.

However, in these chaotic times, firearms were the easiest things to get.

’No need to look elsewhere; the Lin Family has them.’

Among the forty men,

there were two publicly known Cultivators.

One was the Ting Xiu whom Lu Jing’an had just "met."

The other was that man, Lawrence.

According to the information the Lu Family had obtained,

this Lawrence...

...was a New Martial Arts Martial Cultivator who had mastered Fighting Qi.

Lu Jing’an really hadn’t expected it.

He had just been inquiring about the state of New Martial Arts.

’To think I’d run into a master with Fighting Qi so soon.’

Besides these two public Cultivators,

Lu Jing’an had also discovered four others.

The greatest difference between a Cultivator and an ordinary person...

...was their heartbeat.

’It doesn’t matter if they’re a Martial Cultivator or not.’

’Once someone becomes a Cultivator,’

’their physical constitution will definitely be greatly enhanced.’

’If they aren’t a Martial Cultivator,’

’you can’t really tell from their appearance.’

’But their heartbeat will be much slower than an ordinary person’s.’

’An ordinary person’s heart might beat seventy or eighty times a minute.’

’A Cultivator’s would be much slower.’

’And if it were a Great Martial Cultivator,’

’it might only be five or six times a minute,’

’or perhaps even less.’

This was how Lu Jing’an distinguished between ordinary people and Cultivators.

As for those four hidden Cultivators,

and what type of Cultivators they were,

’I’ll have to listen in slowly later to find out.’

’In any case, my Cause and Effect Following Sound is more effective than a Ting Xiu’s ability.’

’As long as I don’t actively probe Chen Xuan,’

’he won’t be able to detect me.’

’So as long as I’m careful and don’t probe too deeply, I won’t have to worry about being discovered.’

After reviewing for a while,

Lu Jing’an summoned one of his subordinates.

He then whispered a few words to the man.

The subordinate nodded repeatedly before leaving.

The study fell silent again, with only the warm light of the electric lamp overhead.

Lu Jing’an toyed with the smooth jade piece in his hand.

He suddenly let out a low chuckle and muttered to himself,

"Fighting Qi materializing into a horse... I’d really like to see that for myself."

The days passed, one by one.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by.

The news of the Li Family coming to marry Lin Qingyi

had now spread through every street and alley of Yin Mountain County.

Some were just watching for the excitement, while others sneered in secret.

Many eyes were also on the Lu Family,

waiting to see how the former local powerhouse would respond.

To the disappointment of those waiting to see how the Lu Family would handle it,

the only one from the Lu Family to respond was Lu Jing’an.

And Lu Jing’an’s method of response was extremely simple and direct.

If he saw someone he didn’t like, he’d beat them up.

If he heard something he didn’t like, he’d beat them up.

After the beatings, he’d dump them all at the Lin Family’s gate.

This simple and crude method

truly disappointed those who had wanted to see the Lu Family’s finesse.

It was simply too crude.

This crudeness,

in their eyes, was a sign of helplessness.

It was just venting frustration with no real solution.

For a time, the Lu Family’s reputation among the upper echelons of Yin Mountain County plummeted.

Although their reputation had fallen,

another party—the hidden mastermind behind the Lin Family—unexpectedly emerged.

The Qian Family!

A local family in Yin Mountain County, they controlled the county’s purse strings.

As for why the Qian Family would stand behind the Lin Family and help the Li Family deal with the Lu Family,

the logic was also very simple.

Lu Huaichuan had already extended his reach into their territory.

The Qian Family was in charge of money.

But half of the flow of silver coins in Yin Mountain County was related to Lu Huaichuan.

How could the Qian Family tolerate that?

The reason the Qian Family dared to step forward now was that Li Jinglin had publicly announced:

The Li Family’s young master would personally come to Yin Mountain to welcome his bride.

This was tantamount to slapping the Lu Family across the face in public.

If they didn’t stop it, the Lu Family would lose all face and substance.

Lu Jing’an’s recent acts of retaliation would become nothing more than a joke.

But if they did try to stop it?

Did the Lu Family really have the guts?

Did they have the strength?

If they really had that kind of strength,

Lu Jing’an wouldn’t have been the target of a street assassination.

It was precisely because of this

that the Qian Family dared to step out and show their goodwill.

Outside, the public opinion of the Lu Family and Lu Jing’an was getting worse and worse.

Everyone was craning their necks, waiting to see the Lu Family become a laughingstock.

Inside the Lu Family, however, things were calm and peaceful.

Aside from beating people up daily and going out carousing every night,

Lu Jing’an spent the rest of his time sparring with Situ Yiyun and Chen Heqing in the courtyard.

Watching Lu Jing’an, who earnestly sparred with the two of them every day and improved with each passing day,

and then thinking about the public opinion of the Lu Family and Lu Jing’an outside,

the two men felt a chill run down their spines.

[Qi Blood First Transformation achieved. 100 hours of Practicing Boxing achieved. Obtained entry: Master of Boxing (Red)]

On this day, right after sparring with Situ Yiyun,

Lu Jing’an finally met the conditions to obtain the red entry.

Looking at the red entry he had just acquired,

Lu Jing’an eagerly equipped it.

The moment the entry was equipped,

Lu Jing’an discovered his Long Arm Fist had broken through.

And it wasn’t a minor breakthrough.

It went straight from Entry Level to Great Success.

Feeling this drastic change in his Fist Skill,

Lu Jing’an couldn’t hide the joy in his heart.

It wasn’t just an improvement in his Fist Skill.

Lu Jing’an could clearly feel that his qi and blood had also increased by a large margin.

’I should only need one more medicinal bath to successfully reach the Qi Blood Second Transformation.’

[Name: Lu Jing’an]

[Attack: 7]

[Defense: 7]

[Agility: 5]

[Spirit: 4]

[Cultivation Technique: Earth Posture (Entry Level) (Attack +1+1, Defense +1+1, Spirit +1+1), Long Arm Fist (Great Success) (Attack +8+10)]

[Entries: As Clear as Daylight (Green), Extraordinary Physique (Green) (Attack +2, Defense +2), Master of Boxing (Red) (Fist Skill +10), Cause and Effect Following Sound (Green), Ghostly Shadows and Traces (Orange) (Agility +3)]

After a quick glance at his status panel, Lu Jing’an couldn’t help but marvel.

"As expected of a red entry!"

He glanced up at the [Practicality First] entry floating above Situ Yiyun’s head.

Lu Jing’an felt that the time was finally ripe.

Thanks to the red entry, Lu Jing’an’s Attack Power had instantly increased by 15 points.

His Attack Power had nearly tripled.

’I think I can get my hands on that entry now.’

He drank a cup of medicinal tea prepared by Cui Jieyi.

After his qi, blood, and stamina were fully restored,

Lu Jing’an stopped Chen Heqing, who was about to get up. "Director Chen, please wait a moment."

Chen Heqing was confused.

Lu Jing’an turned to Situ Yiyun and said,

"Director Situ, I just had a new insight into my Fist Skill.

I’d like to ask for your guidance."

Hearing Lu Jing’an’s words, Situ Yiyun readily agreed.

As he passed by Chen Heqing, he didn’t forget to show off smugly.

His expression seemed to tell Chen Heqing,

’See? Our New Martial Arts is still better.’

’Young Master Lu clearly prefers our New Martial Arts.’

Chen Heqing could only grit his teeth in helpless frustration at this.

In recent days,

Chen Heqing had also noticed.

Although Lu Jing’an respected him,

and gave him no less silver coins than he gave Situ Yiyun,

he still spent more time sparring with Situ Yiyun.

This made Chen Heqing feel somewhat uncomfortable.

And now, Lu Jing’an was skipping over him entirely to continue sparring with Situ Yiyun.

The two stood facing each other in the courtyard once more.

As dusk fell, the halo of light from the lanterns under the eaves stretched and shortened their shadows.

Lu Jing’an slowly assumed a boxing stance, and the aura around him grew heavy.

Lu Jing’an spoke first, "Director Situ, please don’t hold back."