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nTranslator: Deep_Blue Editor: Kurisu

nAs Lu Sheng commanded in his mind, a strand of Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi was rapidly activated.

nThis time round, it was the first level of the Black Fury Qi.

nThe scorching heat was much more intense than before. As he activated the inner Qi and it traveled across his muscles, skin and bone marrow, Lu Sheng felt as if they were on fire.

nBlack Fury Qi emitted from both his shoulders, travelling along the back of his waist and flowing into his right arm before fusing into his right palm and pouring through the long saber.

n“CHI!!”

nThe saber blade slashed into the air, making a sound like the shredding of paper, then hacked violently into the tree trunk before him.

nThe stroke struck deeply into the tree, cutting through half of the trunk before it got stuck and stopped.

n‘Great!’

nLu Sheng’s heart leapt for joy.

nHe knew that he had once again made a vast improvement.

nHis body wracked in pain, Lu Sheng dragged himself back into the wooden hut to rest.

nIn the subsequent days, he did absolutely nothing. Other than exercising his body for a little bit, he spent most of his time sleeping and resting.

nAt the very most, he would circulate Jade Crane Skill at a faster rate. Jade Crane Skill could help strengthen and heal his body much faster.

nHe needed to make adequate preparations to break into the subsequent two levels.

nAfter all, there were three levels that he could cultivate in the Black Fury Skill Manual!

n***

nAt the Lu Manor in Nine Links City.

nSister Yu held a basket in her hands, within which were a few hard-boiled eggs, some yellow-bean cakes, and two pieces of wind-dried smoked meat.

nShe made her way out of the Lu Manor through a side door, called out to the door guards, and walked out along a little alley—all these with great familiarity, like a walk in the park.

nNear the mouth of the alley, a few kids with ponytails ran around kickin up a ruckus, hoping to snatch a stick of candied hawthorn fruit from the hands of the kid in the lead.

nSeeing this, Sister Yu sighed. She thought of how Little Eight was just as adorable when he was younger, always running about in front of her, badgering her for a stick of the candied hawthorn fruit.

nShe was only eighteen years old and still young at that time. Each day, she would go to work at the Lu Manor. Occasionally, she would receive some tips that she did not pass to her parents, which counted as some spare change for her to spend.

nShe would then use this money to buy some snacks for Little Eight—he was only about a few years old at that time.

nBut now…

nThinking about how Little Eight seemed to have lost his mind nowadays, Sister Yu felt extremely miserable in her heart.

nShe continued along the main street in front of the Manor entrance and returned to her usual manner, ending her walk down memory lane. She decided to visit each and every stall to buy some knick-knacks for the children at home.

nToday was a rare day off when she had to return home to rest. She intended to select nice little surprises for her husband and children.

n“Child, my child!”

nSuddenly, she saw a woman with disheveled appearance. She was sitting dazedly at the corner of the wall, murmuring to herself in a low voice.

nSomehow, she felt that the woman seemed rather familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

nShe took a few glances, feeling pity for the woman.

nShe then retrieved a cake from her basket and placed it before the woman.

n“Please eat. This world… hai,” she sighed.

nShe straightened herself and turned to continue her search for what she needed.

n“PA.”

nIn the blink of a moment, she felt an icy cold, wet and slippery hand grabbing tightly onto her own right hand.

n“Have you seen my child!”

nThe voice said.

nSister Yu’s heart lurched and she turned around. It was the woman who had been sitting on the floor.

nShe glared fixedly at Sister Yu with a pair of bloodshot eyes, with such intensity that her eyes were seemingly about to pop out of their sockets.

n“What are you doing? Let go!”

nSister Yu was frightened as she hurriedly shook herself away with all her might, then retreated two steps back.

n“Are you mad!?”

nHowever, that woman seemed not to hear a word as she continued to glare unflinchingly at her.

nInwardly, Sister Yu cursed her bad luck. Turning around, she hurried off with her head low, not intending to do any more shopping. She felt a faint, tingling pain appear in the place where her hand had been grabbed.

nPassing through this street, she took a turn into a small alley as she went on her way home.

nAlthough it was quiet and isolated, it helped her save quite a bit of time as she did not need to make detours.

nThe alley was quite long, with a number of twists and turns along the way. Both sides of the alley were flanked by ordinary single-story houses, their roofs at the level slightly above the height of an average man. In the alley, there were many puddles of dirty water and litter strewn all over the place.

nSister Yu looked at her wrist. The place where she had been grabbed earlier had begun to turn red.

n“What bad luck! Ai… I’ll need to apply some ointment when I get back.”

nShe jumped across a dirty puddle, but the pink embroidered flowers on her fabric shoes were nonetheless stained by some of the sewage. Her mood instantly soured even further.

nShe stomped her feet violently on the ground and proceeded onwards a few steps.

n“Bam.”

nShe suddenly knocked into someone.

nShe raised her head.

n“Have you seen my child?”

nIt was actually the woman from before!

nSister Yu’s heart thumped loudly, as if about to burst forth from her chest.

nShe stumbled many steps backwards, without even noticing that she had directly landed onto the dirty puddle.

n“You, you, you!!!”

nThis woman’s bloodshot eyes were locked onto Sister Yu.

n“Child, my child!”

nSister Yu turned around, intending to flee.

n“PA.”

nAn emaciated hand caught her arm with powerful strength.

n“Have you seen my child?”

nThe woman maintained the same wooden, expressionless face as she repeated that same line.

n“HELP…!”

nThe sound barely echoed down the alley before it came to a premature end, and deathly silence replaced it…

n***

nThree days later, the Lu Manor.

nSecond Mother Liu Cuiyu’s brows furrowed as she sat on the wooden bench, looking onto the relative of Sister Yu who came to relay some news.

n“Sister Yu is not back? She applied for leave and left to return home to her family three days ago.”

nThis burly male relative had the unique stench of mud about him, something characteristic of farmers. With him standing there in the side hall, the space felt somewhat cramped.

n“Usually, Big Sis would get back way ahead of time, but this time round, the people at home were all waiting and waiting, yet saw no sign of her. So, we got worried… plus, with the many incidents that have happened within the city… anyway, they got me to come here to ask…”

nLiu Cuiyu shook her head.

n“She indeed left a long time ago. She even took a few pieces of dried meat and biscuits from the kitchen… After so many days, if she hadn’t gone back, where could she have gone to?”

nShe began to grow a bit worried.

n“Bad news! Bad news!”

nSuddenly, urgent cries of alarm were heard from outside the house.

nA lass, pale and flustered from fright, came running in.

n“Second Mistress! Bad news! Something has happened to Sister Yu!”

n“What happened?!” Second Mother Liu Cuiyu stood up in an instant, the expression on her face changing.

nThe burly man also turned as white as a sheet of paper as he looked at the lass running in.

n“Sister Yu’s body has been found by someone in an alley outside the city. It’s been lifeless for a couple of days!”

nThe lass’ words immediately caused Second Mother and the burly man to be stunned.

n“Lifeless…?”

nReeling from the shock, Liu Cuiyu once again sat down.

n***

nSeveral days later…

nLu Sheng savored the feeling of the blade he held in his hands in detail.

nBlack Fury Qi flowed from within his body into the saber’s blade, akin to a wafting hot air that slowly drifted from within him to swiftly dilute into the saber before spreading out to evenly cover the entire blade.

nHis injuries had recovered a great deal.

nHe decided that, on this day, he would once again upgrade the level of Black Fury Skill to reach the second stratum.

nNow, his body was more and more accustomed to the agitation caused by Black Fury Qi. The injuries resulting from upgrading a level should likely be lower than the previous time.

n“SWOOSH!”

nHe began to practice Black Tiger Saber Technique.

nBlack Tiger Saber Technique had a total of three moves, but in actuality, it could be further divided into more than ten over variations of moves.

nThrough combining a few of the variations that he had gained enlightenment of with the variations Uncle Zhao had imparted to him, he produced a set of complicated and varied saber strokes.

nIn the open clearing in front of the wooden hut, Lu Sheng clutched the long saber in hand. His whole body flashed as light reflected off the saber in rapid succession and swooshing sounds of the surrounding air being cut rang out.

nThe silver beams of saber light danced around him in a sphere, making it seem like his entire person was cocooned within.

nBlack Tiger Saber Technique was extremely imposing, with multiple hacking and chopping moves that lent a terribly fierce air to it when he trained.

nLu Sheng practiced the three saber moves repeatedly over ten times, causing his blood and Qi to boil. From time to time, Black Fury Qi would fuse into the long saber and add tremendous power to his moves.

nTaking advantage of the blood and Qi coursing through his veins, he promptly kept his saber and called out in his mind.

n‘Deep Blue!’

nThe Modifier screen sprang forth.

nLu Sheng moved quickly. He pressed the Modify button, then concentrated all his focus onto the Black Fury Skill section.

n‘Upgrade Black Fury Skill by one level!’ He commanded silently.

n“Swish.”

nImmediately, the state of Black Fury Skill leapt from Level One to Level Two.

nExcept that this time round, the change happened somewhat slowly, and was not as quick as before.

nLu Sheng had just finished modifying when he felt the Black Fury Qi within him increase exponentially. A vast amount of Black Fury Qi seemed to materialize from out of nowhere and grew to two portions roughly the size of one’s fist, circulating at each of his shoulders respectively.

n‘It seems like my body has adapted this time round. Moreover, the Second Level merely increases the overall amount of Black Fury Qi. It should be fine.’

nLu Sheng had read from the manual that the Second Level was the safest of the levels, which was why he dared to directly break into it in the middle of saber practice.

nAfter breaking through to the Second Level, Lu Sheng felt that the reserves inside his body from before had been thoroughly emptied.

nThis was especially the case for the accumulated Jade Crane Skill’s Qi.

nThis was a Qi skill that nourished the body. Ordinarily, his diligent training should have resulted in overflowing Qi that would have gathered and congealed into a ball of Qi at his chest.

nAfter the thickness of the inner Qi had reached its limit, that ball of Qi would indicate that it would begin to increase naturally.

nBut just this one breakthrough of Black Fury Skill depleted the ball of Jade Crane Skill Qi, turning it into nothingness in the blink of an eye.

nAdditionally, the originally thick and sturdy Jade Crane Skill’s inner Qi was immediately reduced to the thickness of an embroidery needle.

nLu Sheng grew in his resolve after his breakthrough into the Second Level. It was now about time for lunch.

n“Young Master, a new letter has arrived!”

nLittle Qiao carried the meal box as she walked in from the door of the yard, waving a yellow envelope with a red seal in her other hand.

n“Let me see it.”

nLu Sheng kept the saber back into its sheath, hanging on his side, then received the letter Little Qiao brought.

nRetrieving the letter and opening it, he read through it once quickly and his face quickly darkened. Then, he kept the letter.

n“Little Qiao, it’s time for us to head back,” he said calmly.

n“Back to Lu Manor?”

nLittle Qiao was thrown off guard, but elated.

n“That’s right, let’s go home,” Lu Sheng nodded.

nBoth of them packed their bags in a jiffy, finished their lunch and left a note at the entrance to the yard. Then, they headed for Nine Links City in a hurry.

nFrom the wooden hut in the little forest to Nine Links City was a journey of roughly eight or nine miles.

nA long saber hung across Lu Sheng’s back. It was an ordinary saber made of fine iron rather than some famous weapon. However, its strength was in its sturdiness and weightiness, which ensured that it wouldn’t get damaged easily.

nBoth of them sped unrelentingly towards Nine Links City. Little Qiao was dead beat; halfway through the journey, she even needed Lu Sheng to carry her for a stretch of distance. That’s how she was able to prop herself up to the end.

nLu Sheng was currently practicing Black Fury Skill, on top of which he also diligently practiced saber techniques each day. Thus, his body had grown much tougher than before.

nThis was especially due to Black Fury Skill that spurred on his growth.

nEach time it completed a revolution within his body, it felt like a ball of piping hot Qi flowed around his body, nourishing his muscles and bone marrow.

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