"I have no idea," Wang Yu said, shaking his head. "Should I know?"
"You ought to know," Qianqian said softly. "Zhao Zheng risked severe injuries to snatch it back from Zhaixingzi and his companion. You're his only son—he would certainly leave it to you."
Wang Yu blinked. "Yet I don't know anything about it."
Qianqian tilted her head with an adoring, lethal innocence. "Was it not kept together with Flowing Fire Reflection and Fire Cloud Saber Technique?"
"No." Wang Yu shook his head again. "Is All Streams Returning to the Source that formidable?"
"If it weren't, I wouldn't have come for it." A conspiratorial glimmer entered Qianqian's eyes. "Fifty years ago, Old Man Xingxiu synthesized the essence of a hundred different schools to create All Streams Returning to the Source. Rumor has it that it holds the secret to transcending Xiantian."
Wang Yu spread his hands. "Rumors usually aren't guaranteed to be true."
"Yet he was already a Xiantian Great Grandmaster back then—and not one who merely walked the beaten path laid down by predecessors. His martial prowess could practically claim supremacy under heaven. Word across the Jianghu went that he had half a foot beyond Xiantian, stepping into the realm of divine comprehension."
Wang Yu stressed once more, "Jianghu rumors only stray farther and farther from the truth as they spread."
Qianqian rolled her eyes at him with a seductive flash. "Even if that's true, All Streams Returning to the Source is a martial art handed down by a Xiantian Great Grandmaster, vastly superior to your Flowing Fire Reflection."
"My Flowing Fire Reflection can also lead directly to Xiantian Great Grandmaster."
"It's just Grandmaster—nothing 'Great' about it. That extra word was sheer speculation, written on a whim by your predecessors," Qianqian replied, sparing him no face. "Don't think Grandmaster and Great Grandmaster are only separated by a single word; the gap between their realms is night and day."
"Fine, then," Wang Yu said nonchalantly. "Regardless, I don't know it, and I haven't seen it."
Qianqian stared at him. "Doesn't such a peerless martial manual tempt your heart in the slightest?"
Wang Yu countered, "I've only cultivated Flowing Fire Reflection to the third tier. I'm a world away from the seventh tier's Grandmaster realm. Whether I can even achieve it in this lifetime remains uncertain. What good would putting All Streams Returning to the Source in front of me do?"
Qianqian argued, "Perhaps you could draw analogies and gain enlightenment."
"My father snatched All Streams Returning to the Source, and then he died," Wang Yu remarked flatly. "He was a martial grandmaster famed throughout the world, so his talent couldn't have been lacking. Did he manage to draw any analogies?"
Qianqian fell silent for a moment.
"Well, my master is stronger than your father anyway," she said. "She would certainly be able to gain enlightenment through analogy."
"Who is your master?" Wang Yu inquired.
"My master is... someone whose identity might cost you your life if you were to learn it." Qianqian raised a playful eyebrow. "Do you truly want to know?"
"Never mind, then," Wang Yu chuckled. "Let's keep talking about All Streams Returning to the Source."
Qianqian giggled. "And here you called Wei Honggang a coward! Looks to me like you're quite cowardly yourself."
"You trailed after us then?" Wang Yu's brows twitched. "Yet you were inside the carriage when we returned."
"How could a handful of manor guards detect my comings and goings?" Qianqian raised her slender neck slightly, looking like a proud white swan.
Thoughts raced through Wang Yu's mind. To slip in and out of a carriage ringed and protected by ten guards without causing a whisper of a disturbance—just how terrifyingly high was Qianqian's martial prowess?
"Brother Yu, don't strain yourself; you won't figure it out." Qianqian lightly traced two circles over his chest with her finger. "Even Zhao Rong is no match for me. How could you possibly deduce it?"
Wang Yu's heart gave a sudden leap. He had never imagined that Qianqian was already a Xiantian expert.
No wonder she dared come alone to threaten him, even after witnessing him slay Wei Honggang.
Wang Yu paused to think, then deliberately steered past the subject. "So All Streams Returning to the Source was in my father's hands, yet he chose not to store it alongside manuals like Flowing Fire Reflection to pass down together to me. Why?"
Qianqian cast him another flirtatious glance. Naturally, she had arrived at the answer as well. "Because he didn't want Zhao Rong to know."
Although Zhao Rong was Zhao Zheng's adoptive brother, he did not share the blood of the Zhao clan. Tempted by a divine martial manual, he might well have concealed the news rather than passing it to Wang Yu.
Zhao Zheng had suffered mortal injuries over this manual, sent Zhao Yu to the capital as a hostage, and eventually died from his wounds. Clearly, it was his most treasured possession, and he had to ensure nothing went awry.
Such a supreme art could only be transmitted down a single line. Even to his sworn brother, he would never utter a word.
Wang Yu asked, "Why are you so certain Zhao Rong didn't pocket the manual himself and keep it from me?"
"Because if Zhao Rong had pocketed it, he would have devoted himself to cultivating it or taught it to Zhao Yingjie, rather than idling away his days wandering about with nothing to do. Nor would Zhao Yingjie's martial arts be so poor."
In truth, Zhao Yingjie's martial arts were not poor for his age, but compared to Xiantian experts like Fang Shaobai and Qianqian, he naturally fell far short.
Qianqian asked, "Think carefully: if your father wished to pass down a supreme martial manual that no one else was ever permitted to see, where would he hide it, and how would he tell you?"
Wang Yu rolled his eyes. "I don't know!"
He wasn't Zhao Zheng's real son. How was he supposed to know the secrets shared between father and son?
Qianqian's eyes curved into crescent moons as she teased, "You two were father and son, after all! How could you not know?"
Wang Yu grunted. "What are you laughing at? If you can't find All Streams Returning to the Source, how will you report back to your master?"
Qianqian shook her head. "That isn't my problem. It's yours."
"What do you mean?"
"Because if I can't find All Streams Returning to the Source, my master might just pay you a personal visit," Qianqian said, her voice lilting smoothly.
Wang Yu gave a dry laugh. "What sort of temper does your master have?"
"My master is very beautiful," Qianqian replied in all seriousness. "And as you know, the more beautiful a woman is, the worse her temper usually gets."
Wang Yu stared at her blankly.
"Brother Yu, you're so adorable—so easily frightened!" Qianqian laughed again, visibly amused. "My master actually has a very good temper. She rarely argues with anyone."
Wang Yu chuckled. "Don't think I can't read between the lines. She doesn't argue—she just strikes right away, doesn't she?"
"Spot on!" Qianqian nodded. "I was taken in by Master as a child, so my temper takes after hers."
Wang Yu's mouth twitched. "Thanks for the warning."
Qianqian took Wang Yu's arm, asking in an earnest tone, "So does Brother Yu still want to do those naughty things with Qianqian?"
Wang Yu caught on immediately. "Not in the least."
"Then does Brother Yu still plan to visit a brothel and buy back an unblemished courtesan?" Qianqian said faintly.
Wang Yu's eyes widened. "You know about that too?"
Qianqian nodded. "Because if Brother Yu goes to buy an unblemished courtesan, you might very well end up buying one of my junior sisters. So I felt obliged to warn you."
Wang Yu signaled his total lack of comprehension.
"Within our sect, there are two distinct lineages: one cultivates the Mysterious Maiden Classic, and the other cultivates the Plain Maiden Classic."
Qianqian enlightened Wang Yu, "The Mysterious Maiden lineage commands Qi with the spirit. A practitioner may cultivate alone, or find a man she takes a liking to in order to nourish her spirit through emotion. Yet while she may feel affection, she must never surrender her virtue; the seal of her essence must remain completely intact.
"The Plain Maiden lineage, on the other hand, commands Qi with physical essence. They excel most at the arts of plucking and supplementing—harvesting Yang to replenish Yin and harmonizing the two poles. They may surrender their bodies, but they must never invest genuine emotion. They must sever all worldly sentiments and desires to keep their divine souls whole."
Wang Yu grimaced. "What kind of demonic manual is that?"
Qianqian replied placidly, "My master is a Xiantian Grandmaster."
Wang Yu instantly straightened his face. "People are divided by good and evil; techniques themselves have neither righteousness nor malice."
Qianqian let out a tinkling laugh as her figure drifted out of the room. She tossed back a reminder: "Brother Yu, the disciples of the Plain Maiden lineage are bewitching and alluring, thoroughly versed in music and dance. We have placed our stakes on the Northwest. Whether you seek pleasure at a brothel or try to purchase an unblemished courtesan, you might very well end up with one of my sisters!"
Standing outside the room, she gave him a playful wink and mouthed silently, *Beware of having your essence drained.*
"What the hell..."
Watching Qianqian drift gracefully out of the main courtyard, Wang Yu was left entirely speechless.
His exasperation was not because Qianqian forbade him from plucking wild flowers outside, but because of Qianqian herself.
*Why have I been targeted by the Demonic Cult again?*
*Floating Light Sect, Qianyin Sect, and now whatever sect Qianqian belongs to.*
In truth, now that Qianqian had revealed the names of their cultivation manuals, any veteran of the Jianghu would have deduced her sect immediately. Wang Yu simply lacked the background knowledge for now.
*Both the imperial court and the Demonic Cult want to meddle, and they might already have laid groundwork in the region. The waters in the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor are far deeper than I imagined!*
Those were the internal concerns; then there were the external ones.
*To the north, I killed the disciple of Shi Mo, the foremost expert of the Black Qiang.*
*To the west, I killed Wei Honggang, one of the Five Great Bandits of Mount Qi.*
*To the east, I swallowed the Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pill from the Great Vajra Monastery.*
*To the south, enemies provoked by my cheap fake father are coming to exact vengeance.*
Wang Yu clicked his tongue in wonder. *Well, well. If this isn't what they call being surrounded by enemies on all sides, what is?*
Wang Yu could never have guessed that he would have to face so many adversaries. Were it not for his personal cheat and the necessity of leveraging the Prince of Zhenxi Manor's 'financial resources'—or rather, strong-armed plunder—to acquire spirit pills and miraculous medicines, he would have changed his name and fled long ago.
Of course, saying it was one thing, but in truth, the Great Vajra Monastery dared not act in the open, the Great Bandits of Mount Qi had no Xiantian experts, Shi Mo could not easily enter the Central Plains, and the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea had already been maimed.
None of these threats were immediately upon him, and each party had its own weaknesses, so Wang Yu was not in a panic.
Furthermore, Qianqian had shown her hand. Since they wished to cooperate with him and leverage the power of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to resist the court, they would naturally have to ensure his safety and keep him alive.
Even so, leaning on mountains or rivers was never as reliable as leaning on oneself. He still had to raise his own strength.
Wang Yu quietly calculated his progress. *Having just consumed the Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pill, the fourth tier of Flowing Fire Reflection is within sight. Swallow Carrying Spring is already perfected, and my Seven Forms of the Setting Sun is thoroughly mastered.*
*Unless I have an endless supply of top-grade nourishing pills to squander, reaching even the fifth tier of Flowing Fire Reflection will be difficult, let alone ascending to Xiantian. Meaningful breakthroughs will be hard to achieve in the short term.*
To have accomplished this much within a mere two months of transmigrating was already immensely satisfying.
*In that case, let's upgrade my external gear first.*
Wang Yu glanced at the longsword he had cast aside. It was considered a fine, quality blade, yet after clashing for half a day against Wei Honggang's refined iron staff, the edge was notched and ruined beyond use.
*This world already possesses co-fusion steelmaking and hundred-refined steel, so there isn't much left that I can introduce.* Wang Yu smiled. *In that case, let's bring out blast furnace steelmaking to boost both efficiency and scale, saving some time for the subsequent forging.*
*Tsk, tsk. Why does it feel like I've wandered back into a historical kingdom-building story again?*
Chapter 34