Chapter 26

"Hey? Young Master, why are you back so early today? Didn't you go to the Martial Hall?"

Xiao Nu was washing clothes in the courtyard. Hearing the footsteps, she turned around, her big eyes immediately turning into crescent moons as she smiled. She got up and walked toward Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi patted Xiao Nu's little head and nodded, saying, "Xiao Nu, come inside for a moment. I have something important to tell you."

Feeling the heaviness in Jiang Yi's heart, Xiao Nu's smile froze, and she hurriedly followed Jiang Yi into the inner room, poured him a cup of water, and then asked with wide eyes, "Young Master, what happened?"

Jiang Yi pursed his lips and forced a smile, saying, "Nothing serious. The Martial Hall has assigned me a secret mission. I might be away for three months, and I'm a bit worried about you being alone at home."

Xiao Nu patted her chest and grinned, "I thought it was something big. Go ahead, Young Master. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself! You'll have to do big things in the future, and you'll often be away."

"Big things!"

Jiang Yi shook his head and smiled bitterly. He had never had grand ambitions and didn't want to do big things. He just wanted to live a peaceful life with Xiao Nu. But fate always seemed to play tricks on him. Now, he was troubled both inside and outside the family, with people from both sides wanting to kill him. To live a stable and happy life, he had to work hard and fight.

"Right!"

Jiang Yi suddenly remembered something, took out a token from his pocket, and handed it to Xiao Nu, saying, "Xiao Nu, look at this."

"Wow? A token!" Xiao Nu's face was full of surprise as she happily exclaimed, "Young Master, you redeemed the token? How did you get ten taels of purple gold?"

"From the Martial Hall!"

Jiang Yi took out a purple gold leaf from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Nu, saying, "Take this gold leaf. You need to take good care of yourself while I'm away for three months. Remember one thing—don't leave the Jiang family compound. Although the Moonlight Tower won't cause trouble on the surface, you might run into problems if you wander around. No one can harm you inside the compound. If someone asks where I am, just say I'm away for three months, but don't say I'm on a mission for the Martial Hall, got it?"

"Okay, okay!" Xiao Nu took the gold leaf and nodded vigorously, then grinned, showing two cute little tiger teeth, "Don't worry, Young Master. I won't leave the compound."

Jiang Yi felt a bit relieved. The Jiang family was very strict about rules, and the rule that family members wouldn't be harmed was particularly important. Even if Jiang Ruhu wanted to cause trouble, he wouldn't dare to harm Xiao Nu, or the family would find out, and that would be serious.

Jiang Yi patted Xiao Nu's head again and stood up, saying, "Alright, I'll go talk to Manager Rong first. Xiao Nu, wait for me."

Xiao Nu nodded with a smile, showing no sign of reluctance, but she said with concern, "Young Master, be careful. I'll make dumplings for you when you come back."

Jiang Yi turned, closed his eyes in pain, and walked out quickly without looking back at Xiao Nu, because... he was afraid that if he looked back, he wouldn't be able to leave.

"Go for it, Young Master!"

Xiao Nu ran out, stood at the gate, and waved as Jiang Yi left, her face showing a sweet smile.

When Jiang Yi's figure disappeared in the distance, Xiao Nu's waving stopped, and her smile froze. Two clear tears silently streamed down her face. She looked in the direction Jiang Yi had gone and whispered, "Young Master, although I don't know what happened, I know it must be something big, or you wouldn't leave me behind! Young Master, don't worry about me. Go and do what you need to do. I'll wait for you at home. If... you die, I won't live alone either. I'll go to the netherworld and still be your servant."

...

"What? You're not working anymore? You're going to be away for three months?"

In the manager's room, Manager Rong was furious after hearing Jiang Yi's words. He slammed his hand on the table and was about to scold him, but he was distracted by the two gold leaves handed to him.

Watching Manager Rong put the gold leaves in his sleeve without a trace, Jiang Yi felt a flash of disgust. He said in a low voice, "Manager, this is for you! This time, I'm going with a few adventurers to gather herbs on the mountain. If I get something good, I'll bring more back for you. Please take care of things on the family side."

"Gathering herbs?"

Manager Rong's expression softened, and he patted Jiang Yi's shoulder affectionately, saying, "Alright, Jiang Yi, you're capable. Young people should go out and gain experience, but you must be careful. You must return to the family within three months, or if the higher-ups investigate and determine you as a traitor, it will be troublesome..."

Jiang Yi nodded. If not for this, he wouldn't have given the two gold leaves to Manager Rong. The Jiang family had strict rules, and leaving the family without permission was considered treason. If Jiang Yi died outside, it would be fine, but if he was found guilty and seen by a Jiang family member, they had the right to kill him on the spot.

After promising to return within three months, Jiang Yi said goodbye to Manager Rong and quickly left the Jiang family's southern courtyard. As soon as he stepped out of the Jiang family gate, he immediately put on a cloak and walked quickly toward the Martial Hall.

After half an hour, he safely arrived at the Martial Hall. On the way, he used a bit of yuan force in his ears and walked through small alleys to ensure no one was following him.

When Manager Yang heard that Jiang Yi planned to seclude himself in the Martial Hall for three months and not go anywhere, he not only showed no dissatisfaction but also generously waived Jiang Yi's food and accommodation fees. If Jiang Yi could fully focus on cultivation and quickly advance to the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, the Martial Hall would gain a gold medal sparring partner, which would earn them more silver. After all, in the Martial Hall, sparring with a gold medal partner was charged per session...

Jiang Yi lived in a small room inside the training hall. Every day, he sparred with Yi Lingxue for half an hour, and the rest of the time he spent in seclusion in his room. Manager Yang even didn't let him sit in the hall, fearing that other young masters and misses would find Jiang Yi for sparring, which would waste his cultivation time.

Yi Lingxue was also quite peculiar. Every afternoon, she would come to the training hall and have Manager Yang call Jiang Yi out for a sparring session. Despite losing every time, she never gave up, which made the sparring partners and Manager Yang suspect that she had a crush on Jiang Yi.

"Phew... No more, you're getting more and more insane, Lang. Are you almost at the third level of the Cauldron Formation Realm? How can you cultivate so fast? If you can cultivate so quickly, why are you still at the second level?"

On the thirteenth day of seclusion in the Martial Hall, Jiang Yi, as usual, sparred with Yi Lingxue for half an hour. This time, Yi Lingxue didn't rush to change her clothes but instead asked curiously.

"Hehe, I didn't like cultivating before, and the cultivation speed is faster in the Martial Hall. They also provide Spirit God Pills..."

Jiang Yi gave a casual explanation. Over these ten days, he had been cultivating day and night, and the runes in the seal had dissolved by nearly a hundred. His cultivation speed had increased, and with Manager Yang providing an endless supply of Spirit God Pills, his cultivation speed couldn't be any faster. He estimated that he would break through to the third level of the Cauldron Formation Realm in three to five days.

Yi Lingxue adjusted her fiery red martial robe and sighed, "What a pity... If you had worked hard earlier, you might have been one of the top ten geniuses in Tianyu City."

"Top ten geniuses? Who are they?" Jiang Yi asked curiously.

"You don't know?" Yi Lingxue rolled her eyes at Jiang Yi, and the coquettish look in her eyes, combined with her fiery body drenched in sweat and the tight-fitting robe, made Jiang Yi feel extremely hot.

Yi Lingxue paused and explained, "The second son of the Ji family, Ji Changge; the third daughter, Ji Tingyu; the eldest son of the Ma family, Ma Heiqi; the eldest son of the Jiang family, Jiang Hen Shui; the collateral son of the Jiang family, Jiang Rulong; the eldest son of the Leng family, Leng Qianjun; the fourth daughter of the Leng family, Leng Qianqian; the third son of the Liu family, Liu He; the collateral son of the Liu family, Liu Zhan; and the eldest son of the Yang family, Yang Zhongtian. These ten people are all under eighteen years old, and their strength is at least at the seventh level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, known as the top ten geniuses of this generation in Tianyu City."

Jiang Yi, who was not well-liked in the Jiang family, rarely interacted with outsiders, so he knew nothing about these gossips. He nodded in agreement. The Jiang family had two people on the list, and Ji Tingyu was also on it. These few people were indeed powerful. Jiang Hen Shui and Ji Tingyu were both at the eighth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, and they could break through to the Purple Mansion Realm with one more level.

However, he didn't care much about these people. The lives of those young masters and misses were too far from his, and he didn't want to have any interaction with them. He looked at Yi Lingxue and said, "Miss Yi, you're also doing well. I feel your combat strength has improved rapidly. Have you mastered all your martial techniques? Are you almost at the fifth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm?"

"Hehe!"

Yi Lingxue's face lit up with excitement, and she clenched her fists, saying, "Lang, to be honest, this is actually your doing. I know my talent, and I'm slow at comprehending martial techniques. If not for you... how could I have mastered these ten martial techniques so quickly? I stayed today just for this reason!"

"Because of me?"

Jiang Yi was surprised. Could accompanying someone in sparring help them master martial techniques quickly? This world had such strange things? But... it seemed that Miss Yi's martial technique improvement was indeed exaggerated. Could it really be because of him?

"Lang!"

Just as Jiang Yi was puzzled, Yi Lingxue solemnly took out a token from her pocket and said, "I, Yi Lingxue, on behalf of the Yi family, formally invite you to join the Yi family. Your position will be Deputy Elder of the Martial Hall, and your salary and benefits..."

"Wait! Deputy Elder of the Martial Hall?"

Jiang Yi was completely stunned. A sixteen-year-old boy going to the Yi family to be an elder? Was Yi Lingxue playing with him, or was the head of the Yi family crazy? He was stunned for a moment before asking in surprise, "Miss Yi, are you joking?"

Yi Lingxue had a serious expression and waved the token in her hand, saying, "This is my father's token. I'm not joking, Lang... You might not know, but you have a unique ability to help martial artists quickly master their techniques. The Yi family values this ability and is recruiting you. You don't need to do anything at the Yi family, just spar with the family members every day to help them quickly master their techniques..."

"Is there really such a strange thing? Could it be because of the black yuan force?"

Jiang Yi was shocked, lowered his head, and fell silent. Going to the Yi family was definitely impossible. Not only did he have an agreement with the Martial Hall, but if the Jiang family found out, he would be in grave danger. This was considered treason.

Yi Lingxue saw Jiang Yi's silence and became a bit anxious. She took a few steps forward, getting within three feet of Jiang Yi, and said, biting her lip, "Lang, you can ask for any benefits, and I can pass them on to my father. If you're from another family, it's not a problem. You can join our Yi family as a son-in-law. I have a cousin who is even prettier than me..."