The Mirror Master

"Xiaolu, come with me. Your mother and the others are already settled."

Luo Qing said, "It’s a small courtyard in the city. Before, I and..."

As she spoke, a flicker of sadness crossed Luo Qing’s eyes. She paused for a moment before continuing, "I bought it a while ago. It’s been vacant, so it’s perfect for your mother and the others to live in."

"Thank you for the trouble, Sister Luo."

Lu Bai had a vague idea of what Luo Qing had left unsaid, but he didn’t press the matter.

The courtyard wasn’t large, but it was more than big enough for a few people.

Seeing Lu Bai arrive safely in Bluestone City, both Madam Wang and Uncle Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

Madam Wang was a little worried. She went up, took Lu Bai by the arm, and looked him over. "Ah Bai, how did you suddenly get so tall? Is everything alright with your body?"

"I’m great."

Lu Bai smiled. "It’s just from the Bone Strengthening Pill and Bone Forging Pill that Sister Luo gave me. They made me grow."

That wasn’t entirely a lie.

"Xiaolu, settle in here for now. Focus on your Cultivation and don’t slack off. Try to reach the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage by next year or the year after."

Luo Qing continued, "Once you reach that level, I can get you into Bluestone Academy to practice martial arts."

Lu Bai pondered for a moment before saying, "Sister Luo, I’ve already reached the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage."

’As long as I can find a suitable Inner Power Heart Method, I can start cultivating and step into the Inner Strength Realm at any time.’

’I want to get into Bluestone Academy as soon as possible, too. I need to see if I can obtain a High Grade Inner Strength technique there.’

There was no need to hide this matter.

"Huh?"

It wasn’t just Madam Wang and Uncle Fu who were startled.

Even Luo Qing was completely astonished.

"The Third Level of the Root Bone Stage already? So fast?"

Luo Qing looked Lu Bai up and down.

Compared to before, Lu Bai did look somewhat different.

If she hadn’t known Lu Bai to be an honest kid, she would have thought he was talking nonsense.

"Hurry up and thank your Sister Luo for the Spirit Pills,"

Madam Wang gave Lu Bai a gentle push.

Lu Bai stepped forward and expressed his gratitude.

Luo Qing still couldn’t quite figure it out.

’Are the effects of the Bone Strengthening Pill and Bone Forging Pill really that good?’

However, she was preoccupied with other matters and had no time to delve into it. "This is even better," she said. "I’ve been a bit busy lately, but I’ll find some time to visit Bluestone Academy and handle your enrollment as soon as possible."

"Miss Luo, he’s already missed the start of the school year. Won’t that be a bit troublesome?" Madam Wang asked.

"It’s fine. I’m familiar with Tutor Zheng at the academy. It won’t be a big problem."

Luo Qing glanced at the sky and said, "I have to get going. Madam Lu, Xiaolu, please make yourselves at home here.

If you need anything, just come find me at the Luo Family residence. I’ve already given instructions to my people."

"Sister Luo, I’ll see you out."

Lu Bai said.

After walking Luo Qing outside, Lu Bai asked, "Sister Luo, is there anything I can help you with?"

Ever since leaving the Luo Family residence, he had noticed that Luo Qing seemed to have a lot on her mind, and her expression was etched with fatigue.

"It’s nothing."

Luo Qing shook her head slightly. "It’s just family matters. You can’t help.

Don’t overthink things right now. Just focus all your energy on your Cultivation.

Although Bluestone County has other martial arts schools, none of them can compare to Bluestone Academy in terms of strength or status. The Tutors there are all people with real abilities."

Lu Bai nodded in agreement.

Luo Qing offered a few more words of advice before hurrying away.

Upon learning that Lu Bai had already reached the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage and had a chance to enter Bluestone Academy, Uncle Fu was overjoyed and prepared a feast of fine food and wine.

But later, in the kitchen, Uncle Fu secretly wiped away tears.

’If the Master and the Eldest Young Master were still here, they would be so happy. The house would be so full of life.’

’Now, the Lu Family is just the Madam and the Young Master. It’s so desolate.’

After dinner, Madam Wang seemed to think of something. "Ah Bai," she said, "don’t you dare go ask for the betrothal gifts back from the Luo Family."

Uncle Fu nodded in agreement repeatedly.

Madam Wang said, "Never mind the fact that the price of those two Elixirs far exceeds the betrothal gifts we sent. These past few days, Miss Luo has been the one bustling about, taking care of everything, without letting us spend a single coin."

Back in Liuxi Town, when he had seen Madam Wang and Uncle Fu off, Lu Bai had given the five hundred taels he got back from Chen Tieshan to Uncle Fu.

Those five hundred taels remained untouched.

"Don’t worry, Mother."

Lu Bai smiled.

Even without Madam Wang’s reminder, he would never have gone to the Luo Family to ask for the betrothal gifts back.

It wasn’t because of the Bone Strengthening Pill, the Bone Forging Pill, or how much money had been spent.

In Lu Bai’s eyes, the fact that Luo Qing had worried for their safety, traveled a thousand miles from Bluestone County, and even hired a Daoist from Danding Temple to investigate the matter—that bond of friendship alone was something no Elixir could ever compare to.

Over the past two days, Lu Bai had wandered around Bluestone City and bought a new set of clothes that fit him properly.

They weren’t expensive, just made of coarse cloth.

He wasn’t very concerned with his appearance.

「Nightfall.」

As usual, the Black Dog was staying in the same room with him.

But unlike before, when the Black Dog would usually lie down by the door to sleep at night,

now it sat ramrod straight at the entrance, its eyes closed, completely motionless, its breathing pattern strangely altered.

’Is Ah Mo cultivating?’

Lu Bai was secretly amazed.

The Black Dog had previously shown great interest in *Nine Netherworld* and could even understand its contents.

He had also heard from Daoist Yu that Ah Mo was a Five-Black Dog with a natural Evil Body.

He connected this to the Secret Technique derived from *Nine Netherworld*, the *Soul Suppressing Order*, which required Evil Qi to be unleashed. ’Maybe it really can cultivate something remarkable.’

It was a pity that *Nine Netherworld* hadn’t been fully repaired yet; it was currently only at the level of an Earth Tier Technique.

In the future, if he had the chance, he would fully repair *Nine Netherworld* and see what grade the Cultivation Technique truly was.

Seeing even the dog working so hard, Lu Bai didn’t dare to slack off. He took the sheet of golden paper from his robes.

This was the paper that had fallen from the body of the man on the right in the cave at Black Tiger Stream.

He hadn’t had a chance to examine it since he’d obtained it.

Lu Bai placed the golden paper against his chest, activated his Blood Qi, and stimulated the Ancient Mirror.

Soon, a ripple spread across the mirror’s surface.

On the line for Martial Techniques, a new line of text appeared.

[Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist Upper Chapter·Ultimate (Not comprehended) (Repairable)]

Lu Bai’s eyes lit up.

An Ultimate Skill-level Martial Technique!

’This is incredibly rare.’

Martial Techniques were different from Cultivation Techniques.

Cultivation Techniques for each Realm had different cultivation paths.

But Martial Techniques were not divided by Realm.

Even someone in the Root Bone Stage could, in theory, cultivate an Ultimate Skill Martial Technique.

If it could be unleashed in the Root Bone Stage, it could also be unleashed in the Inner Strength Realm, the Innate Realm, and the Golden Core Realm.

As one’s Realm increased, so too would the power of the Martial Technique.

However, in reality, this was very difficult to achieve.

For one, Ultimate Skill Martial Techniques were extremely rare and were all carefully guarded secrets.

For another, even if a low-Realm Martial Artist obtained an Ultimate Skill Martial Technique, their Cultivation would be insufficient to comprehend it.

For Lu Bai, however, these two points were no longer a problem!

The current problem was a lack of Soul Light.

But the formation of Ghostly Creatures wasn’t easy.

The Ghostly Creatures that had appeared in Liuxi Town, for example, were either raised by Madam Zhou or indirectly created by her.

’It’s been almost seven days since Lu Ziyuan’s family died, and there were also those bandits. I’ll wait a couple more days and see. You never know...’

Lu Bai mused to himself as he found a corner to hide the Storage Pouch he had taken from the skeleton and the sheet of golden paper. Only then did he go to sleep, his mind at ease.