The Mirror Master

After returning to the Lu Residence, Lu Bai went back to his own small courtyard and resumed practicing the Fierce Tiger Stance.

No matter who was pulling the strings, the only way to protect himself was to continuously improve his strength.

In forty days, he would also have to deal with Lu Ziyuan and his family.

Trying to seize his inheritance was the same as robbing him blind.

Whether in his past life or this one, money had always been of the utmost importance.

Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—everything required money.

Furthermore, cultivation of the Martial Dao, aside from the Martial Arts Techniques themselves, consumed vast amounts of money.

Weapons, protective gear, medicinal herbs, Spirit Pills... every single item required a great deal of money to support.

An ordinary family’s annual living expenses were no more than five taels of silver.

Yet the old ginseng in the jar of medicinal wine he drank last night was worth dozens of taels.

Scholars could be poor, but warriors had to be rich. It had always been this way.

Lu Bai practiced the Fierce Tiger Stance in his courtyard. When he grew tired, he would practice the Five-Step Fist.

The Five-Step Fist was divided into five stances—Bow Step, Horse Step, Servant Step, Rest Step, and Void Step—which were combined with fist and palm techniques like embracing hands, rushing punches, and rising palms.

In a life-or-death battle, there was a clear difference between fighting with a weapon and fighting without one.

The lower one’s Realm, the greater this difference became.

Forget the Root Bone Stage; even an Inner Family Master wasn’t invulnerable. A sword through the heart would kill them on the spot.

Lu Bai knew a Basic Sword Technique called the Eight Sword Skills, though he had only just reached the entry level.

However, he didn’t have any weapons on hand.

Suddenly, Lu Bai remembered that his elder brother, Lu Yun, had a personal sword named the Cyan Cloud Sword.

It was said that there were two Cyan Cloud Swords, a yin and a yang, one gentle and one firm.

They had been forged by a master swordsmith, commissioned by Lu Bai’s would-be sister-in-law, Luo Qing. The name was taken from the characters ’Qing’ from her name and ’Yun’ from his brother’s.

They were also a token of their love.

After Lu Yun’s death, the yang Cyan Cloud Sword was still in the house.

Although it was a memento of the dead, Lu Bai felt no hesitation.

He retrieved the Cyan Cloud Sword from his elder brother’s room, returned to the courtyard, and began to practice the Eight Sword Skills.

The so-called Eight Sword Skills were Thrust, Cleave, Point, Intercept, Flick, Slash, Raise, and Swipe. They were all the most basic Sword Moves, lacking any sophisticated variations.

After all, in a place like Liuxi Town, it was considered quite good just to learn some Yellow Tier Martial Arts.

Many people who wanted to practice martial arts never got the chance, and even more couldn’t afford it.

Besides, the Fierce Tiger Stance he was cultivating was a Profound Tier Technique.

Although stance training was arduous, every time he exhausted his stamina, Lu Bai could feel his strength increasing and his Blood Qi flourishing.

After nightfall, the streets were long deserted.

With the Ancient Mirror on his person, Lu Bai, accompanied by the Black Dog and carrying his sword, slipped out of the Lu Residence. He once again wandered the back alleys of the town to see if he could run into any evil spirits.

He hadn’t seen any during the day, so he would try looking again at night. Most evil spirits feared the bright sun and would likely only appear after dark.

Whether it was the Five-Step Fist or the Eight Sword Skills, with slow and steady practice, he could eventually reach Minor Success, Great Success, and finally Perfection.

’But time is short right now. It’s best if I can gather some evil spirits, convert them into Soul Light, and upgrade the Fierce Tiger Stance to a Celestial Tier Technique as soon as possible!’

’The Mountain Monarch Bone Forging Technique can cultivate the three levels of skin, sinews, and bones simultaneously, multiplying the effect. It will let me reach the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage much faster!’

However, after a full night of wandering the town, Lu Bai still came up empty-handed.

After returning home, Lu Bai went to the medicine room as usual, opened a jar of medicinal wine, and took several large gulps. Riding the potency of the medicine and the alcohol, he continued to practice the Fierce Tiger Stance.

He trained until midnight, finishing the entire jar of medicinal wine.

He hadn’t rested the previous night, and after training until the third watch tonight, he was already exhausted.

The potency of the medicine and a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Unable to hold on any longer, Lu Bai finally went back to his room to sleep.

The next morning, Lu Bai dragged himself out of bed and continued to practice the Fierce Tiger Stance, the Five-Step Fist, and the Eight Sword Skills, not daring to slack off.

「Seven days passed like this.」

These past few days, Liuxi Town had been peaceful, with no new incidents reported.

On this particular night, Lu Bai held the Fierce Tiger Stance, motionless, sweat beading on his forehead.

After seven days of nonstop bitter training, the length of time he could hold his stance had steadily increased.

He could now hold the stance for a full two hours!

At this moment, his legs began to tremble slightly, a clear sign that he had reached his limit.

But Lu Bai didn’t give up.

’Just one more moment, hold on a little longer!’

Even with the greatest of opportunities and fortuitous encounters, without extraordinary perseverance, an unbreakable will, and an unshakeable heart for the Dao, it was impossible to reach the summit.

Lu Bai felt an unbearable heat coursing through his body. His breathing grew heavy, and sweat continuously seeped from his pores, evaporating so quickly that a mist rose around him.

Streams of energy surged into his flesh and blood, stimulating every inch of his skin.

Suddenly!

Lu Bai felt his entire body lighten, as if he had just broken free from a swamp. His trembling legs stabilized once more, filled with power.

He lightly brushed his arm. When he flexed his muscles, the skin felt somewhat rough and full of resilience, like cowhide.

Lu Bai let out a soft sigh and relaxed his stance.

Tempering one’s skin until it was like cowhide meant passing the first hurdle of the Root Bone Stage: the Skin and Flesh Stage.

After passing this stage, his strength, stamina, and resistance to attacks were all greatly enhanced.

Lu Bai’s gaze swept over to a nearby fruit tree.

He took a deep breath, unleashed his full strength, and lunged forward with a rushing punch.

CRACK!

With a sharp snap and a violent shake, the fruit tree, as thick as a man’s arm, was actually broken in two by Lu Bai’s punch!

Lu Bai felt a faint sting in his fist, but the skin wasn’t even broken. He just shook his hand, and the sensation vanished.

He focused his Heart and Spirit on the Ancient Mirror, and saw that the words on it had changed.

[Mirror Master: Lu Bai]

[Realm: Root Bone Stage, First Level—Skin Refining (Cowhide)]

[Cultivation Technique: Bone Supreme Profound Scripture·Ultimate

Fierce Tiger Stance·Profound (Repairable)]

[Martial Technique: Five-Step Fist: Yellow (Entry)

Eight Sword Skills: Yellow (Entry)]

[Secret Technique: Eye of Illusion]

The Fierce Tiger Stance was truly worthy of being a Profound Tier Technique. After just seven days of relentless training, Lu Bai had already reached the First Level of the Root Bone Stage.

This cultivation speed was incredibly fast.

Even his elder brother, Lu Yun, had taken nearly half a year to reach the First Level of the Root Bone Stage.

However, Lu Bai’s expression was calm, with no hint of joy in his eyes.

The Fierce Tiger Stance was remarkably effective for tempering skin and flesh.

But its effectiveness would be greatly diminished when it came to the Second Level, Yijin.

For the Third Level, Bone Forging, the effect would be negligible.

Lu Yun had passed the First Level in half a year, but it had taken him more than three years to pass the Third Level.

During that time, he had also consumed vast quantities of medicinal herbs, using medicinal baths to cleanse his flesh and blood and nourish his sinews and bones.

Lu Bai had less than forty days left.

If he continued to cultivate at this pace, by the time Lu Ziyuan’s family came knocking, he would probably still have to hand over his family’s fortune.

And he could forget about unmasking the mastermind behind the scenes.

’I have to collect Soul Light as fast as possible and repair the Fierce Tiger Stance to the Celestial Tier.’

The night was late, and Lu Bai, his heart heavy with worries, returned to his room with the Black Dog to sleep.

Ever since the Black Dog had followed him home, it had never left his side, and it usually never made a sound.

When Lu Bai slept in his bed, the Black Dog would lie down beside him.

He had even suspected that the dog might be mute and simply couldn’t bark.

Lu Bai spent his entire days training, and with the fortifying medicinal wine he drank before bed, he was usually asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Perhaps because he had just broken through, or for some other reason, he slept restlessly tonight.

In a dazed, half-asleep state, Lu Bai vaguely sensed a chill.

His foot, dangling off the edge of the bed, felt slightly cold.

"GRRRR!"

Just then, the Black Dog beside him seemed to sense something. It shot up, its eyes flashing with ferocity, and let out a low, threatening growl in the direction of the door.

Lu Bai’s heart tightened. He snapped fully awake, fumbled for a moment beside him, and gripped the Cyan Cloud Sword tightly in his hand!

Ever since he had brought the Cyan Cloud Sword to his room, he had kept it by his bedside at night, always within arm’s reach.

Lu Bai rolled out of bed and looked toward the door, but there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

He only felt gusts of sinister wind that sent a chill down his spine. The temperature in the room had dropped sharply.

A nauseating, scorched odor began to permeate the air, like the stench of burning wood, flesh, and fat from a great fire—so thick it was suffocating!

Lu Bai quickly realized what was happening. A divine light flashed in his eyes as he activated the Eye of Illusion.

Everything in his vision instantly changed.

The room was still the same room, and his surroundings were unchanged, but now a strange middle-aged man and woman stood side-by-side in the doorway, their faces deathly pale.

The woman was holding a swaddled infant in her arms.

Lu Bai’s gaze shifted.

He saw a young boy sitting on the windowsill, his head cocked to the side, staring straight at him with vacant eyes, his legs swinging back and forth.

In a corner of the room, another little girl with her head bowed was scratching at the floorboards with her finger, producing a grating sound as she carved out two words: ’PAY WITH YOUR LIFE’!

Another small shadow was slowly emerging from under his bed, poking its head out. In the dim light, a bizarre smile spread across its childish face...

All of this was revealed through the Eye of Illusion—a truly terrifying sight!

Lu Bai took a few deep breaths, his thoughts raced, and he quickly figured out what was going on, calming himself down.

’If they were human, I wouldn’t know their background or Cultivation, and I have no real combat experience. I’d actually be quite worried.’

’But if they’re evil spirits and Ghost Souls, then that’s exactly what I wanted!’

The Ancient Mirror on his chest was already practically salivating.

Besides, he had already guessed the origin of these six Ghost Souls.

It was Carpenter Zhang’s family, who had burned to death seven days ago!

"We’ve been wronged!"

The middle-aged woman stared at Lu Bai with a vacant gaze, muttering to herself.

"We’ve been wronged!"

Carpenter Zhang and his wife spoke at the same time, their voices growing more mournful and shrill.

"Every injustice has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. Instead of seeking out the one who murdered your family, you come looking for me. You truly can’t tell right from..."

Lu Bai’s gaze was ice-cold, but he stopped mid-sentence.

Sometimes, even living people struggled to distinguish right from wrong.

It was naive of him to expect this pack of lonely ghosts to understand reason and tell right from wrong.

If Carpenter Zhang’s family felt wronged, then what about all the people who had died in the Lu Residence, including this body’s original owner? How wronged must they feel?

Lu Bai drew his sword. With lowered brows and downcast eyes, he said softly, "Since you’re all here, you might as well stay. A family should stick together. Perfect for sending you all on your way."