Chapter 153. What Do You Mean It’s Expensive?
At daybreak the next morning, Xu Yuan got up and headed out toward the Instruction Hall.
Bathed in the early morning light, the ancient building looked especially solemn. A string of dew still clung to the corners of the eaves, glimmering with tiny halos in the sunlight.
Martial artists passed in and out of the hall, their faces carrying either excitement or disappointment. The moment they noticed the stripes on his shoulder, they were startled and quickly stepped aside, cupping their fists in salute.
Xu Yuan nodded. Just as he was about to step onto the stairs, he saw a figure come out to greet him from inside.
“Oh my, Sir Xu!”
Luo Sen’s face was full of smiles, and his attitude was more respectful than ever before. “You look radiant today. What brings you to the Instruction Hall?”
Xu Yuan was now an eight-striped household guard, a figure of real standing within the entire Shangyang Residence. How could Luo Sen possibly dare to slight him?
Xu Yuan smiled, exchanged a few pleasantries with him, then got straight to the point. “Steward Luo, now that I’ve been promoted to an eight-striped household guard, does that mean I can go up to the third floor and choose another martial art?”
Hearing that, Luo Sen pondered for a moment before smiling.
“There’s no precedent for it, but it should be possible. Still... Sir Xu, didn’t you just exchange for the Thunderclap Fist not long ago? Do you really have enough battle merits left?”
Xu Yuan only smiled and said nothing.
As for the news that he had broken through to the Extraordinary Meridians, he had no intention of letting it spread.
After all, he had only publicly announced his breakthrough to the eight-meridian stage not long ago. If, only a few days later, word came out that he had already entered the Extraordinary Meridians, it would be far too shocking.
Not only would it cause a huge stir, it might also arouse suspicion from the Shangyang Residence.
After all, who would believe that someone could break through to the eight-meridian stage in one or two months, then enter the Extraordinary Meridians another four or five days later?
Even the order of difficulty made no sense!
That would leave only one explanation: the brat had broken through earlier and deliberately concealed it. Were you being disloyal? What exactly were you plotting?
So Xu Yuan was in no hurry to register it. He planned to wait a while first.
“You don’t need to worry about the battle merits, Steward Luo,” Xu Yuan said calmly.
Seeing how confident he looked, Luo Sen did not ask further and merely smiled as he led the way. “Very well, Sir Xu, this way please.”
As they walked, Luo Sen kept glancing at Xu Yuan from time to time, his eyes full of mixed emotions. He was shocked, and envious as well.
This was what true genius looked like.
He himself had been stuck at the seven-meridian stage for two years, and that bottleneck had not budged in the slightest, while Xu Yuan seemed to reach it in the blink of an eye.
And now, he had effortlessly squeezed dry the Shangyang Residence’s little stockpile.
Luo Sen himself had not even touched a single one of those martial arts manuals.
Xu Yuan paid no attention to what he was thinking and simply went straight up to the third floor.
The familiar scene came into view. In the ancient compartments, a faint scent of ink and sandalwood lingered in the air.
His gaze immediately fell on the light-blue booklet at the innermost side.
Layered Wave Palm.
Without another word, Xu Yuan stepped forward, picked it up, and with a casual sweep of his hand spent two thousand battle merits.
That display of wealth made Luo Sen beside him green with envy. In a weak voice, he said, “As expected of Sir Xu. You can just buy a martial art this expensive without even blinking.”
Xu Yuan glanced at him and thought to himself, How is two thousand battle merits expensive?
It had obviously always been priced like this. Search your conscience: after all these years, your wages still had not gone up. Had you even been working seriously?
Once Luo Sen brought over the copied manual, Xu Yuan tucked it into his robe and cupped his fists toward him. “Many thanks, Steward Luo. I’ll take my leave.”
“Take care, Sir Xu!”
Luo Sen hurriedly returned the salute. He watched that figure disappear into the far end of the corridor and did not withdraw his gaze for a long time, thinking only of when the Bai Family might start another war. He wanted that martial art badly too.
...
In the afternoon, a carriage rolled out of the Shangyang Residence and headed toward the Level Four zone.
Although the fighting there had already died down for the time being, his post was still over there.
Still, if he wanted to earn battle merits as easily as before, that would no longer be possible.
The carriage rumbled along, crushing through the leftover moisture on the official road and trailing a long shadow in the afternoon sunlight.
When they passed through the Level Three zone, Xu Yuan suddenly said, “Stop the carriage.”
The driver pulled on the reins and turned back to ask, “What are your orders, sir?”
“Wait here for a while. I’m going to see a few old acquaintances.”
With that, Xu Yuan sprang down from the carriage and walked toward Changlin Ward.
He could not have been more familiar with that market district. Every street there had once borne his footprints. Now that he had returned, his state of mind was completely different.
The guards at the ward gate spotted him from afar. They were stunned at first, then hurried over in delight. “Battle Overseer Xu, what brings you here?”
“Why are you calling him Battle Overseer Xu? Call him Sir Xu.” The man beside him glared at him. Was he trying to address him too lowly?
Xu Yuan waved a hand, indicating there was no need for ceremony, and walked inside.
The news spread quickly. Chen Sanli practically came running out in an instant, his face full of excitement. “Brother Xu, you finally came to see us!”
Gao Yuan followed close behind, smiling as he respectfully bowed.
Xu Yuan exchanged greetings with the two of them, asked about how they had been doing recently, and offered a few words of encouragement.
Although Chen Sanli was still only at the Third Meridian, because of Xu Yuan’s influence he was thriving in Changlin Ward. Gao Yuan had become a squad leader, and his life was going quite comfortably as well.
Looking at them, Xu Yuan could not help feeling a little emotional.
The people who had once walked out of the menial workers’ quarters with him had all ended up with different fates, though more or less each of them had been affected by him in some way.
After chatting for nearly half an hour, Xu Yuan rose and took his leave.
At parting, Chen Sanli was reluctant to let him go and kept escorting him all the way to the ward gate. In a pitiful voice, he said, “Brother Xu, when you have time in the future, remember to come by more often.”
Xu Yuan nodded with a smile and turned to leave. He had not gone far when he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure walking toward him.
That person saw him as well, and her steps abruptly halted.
Zhou Yu?
Xu Yuan was slightly taken aback, then looked this old acquaintance over.
Her aura was much steadier than before, clearly showing that her cultivation had improved again. She had already broken through to the Fourth Meridian.
Zhou Yu stood there in a daze for a moment. Her eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, then she stepped forward and cupped her fists. “Greetings, Sir Xu.”
Xu Yuan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings as he asked, “So it’s you. Where’s Wang Huan?”
Zhou Yu bit her lip but did not answer. Instead, she raised her head and looked at him with a complicated expression. “Sir Xu, I want to ask you something.”
Xu Yuan paused, then nodded. “Go ahead.”
“My accumulation at the Fourth Meridian has already reached a certain level, but I still can’t seem to touch that bottleneck...”
Zhou Yu paused, and when she spoke again there was a hint of resolve in her voice. “So I want to go to the Level Four zone and temper myself on the battlefield for a while. Do you think it would still be suitable for me to go there?”
Ever since the Level Three zone had driven back the Bai Family, it had become completely peaceful.
Ordinary people naturally welcomed that with all their hearts, but for certain martial artists trapped in a bottleneck, it also meant losing an opportunity to stimulate their qi and blood.
Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Although the large-scale fighting in the Level Four zone has lessened, there are still quite a few smaller clashes. If you truly have that intention, then you can go give it a try.”
“Many thanks, Sir Xu.”
Having received a positive answer, Zhou Yu was instantly overjoyed. After thanking him with a salute, she turned and left.
Xu Yuan watched her departing figure. She truly was someone whose heart was set on the martial path.
If she went, would Wang Huan follow along as well?