Chapter 9

Hong Yu squatted in the outhouse, his face turning blue from holding it in.

What a jinx! Why did I say I needed to relieve myself just now? Now I really have diarrhea! After Grandpa Hong left, Hong Yu had breakfast and then, within half an hour, he set a glorious record of six bathroom trips, which no one in the Hong family would likely break for a hundred years!

Finally, his stomach felt better, and Hong Yu sighed as he wiped himself with toilet paper and stood up.

Strangely, diarrhea should make one feel weaker, but why did he feel more energetic? Hong Yu was puzzled, but he felt genuinely better, so he tidied himself up and went to find his older brother, Hong Lie.

Hong Yu didn’t need to look; Uncle Shen would definitely be nearby.

When he arrived at Hong Lie’s courtyard, things were different today. The servants were all hiding outside, peering in curiously.

Hong Yu was puzzled and pushed the door open. He heard a woman’s scolding inside, followed by a door slamming. Hong Lie stumbled out, looking disheveled, and a book was thrown at him.

Hong Lie, with his initial Eighth Rank Body Aura cultivation, clearly had battle experience. He calmly dodged the book with a slight turn of his head, narrowly avoiding it.

The airflow from the book lifted a strand of hair from his forehead and his unkempt, rough beard, giving him a calm and composed demeanor that contrasted with the chaos. Hong Yu couldn’t help but clap and exclaim, "What a master’s demeanor!"

Hong Lie’s face turned red, and the woman inside, presumably his wife, must have heard her brother-in-law arrive, so she stopped her outburst.

Hong Lie pulled him aside, "Second Brother, did you come to see me? Let’s talk outside."

Hong Yu glanced back at the house, sighing inwardly. This arranged marriage by Grandpa is really harmful.

The two brothers went to the back garden and sat down in a pavilion. Hong Lie smiled bitterly, "Since we’re brothers, I’m not afraid of you laughing. You saw what happened, but don’t tell Grandpa or anyone else."

Hong Yu sighed inwardly. His older brother was indeed honest. Even as a victim, he was worried about Grandpa’s feelings. He nodded, "I understand."

Hong Lie’s expression darkened but quickly adjusted, "What brings you here?"

Hong Yu thought for a moment, unsure how to start. After some hesitation, he said, "Big Brother, do you trust me?"

Hong Lie immediately became wary, "What do you want? Don’t even think about asking me to help you sneak out or borrow more than a thousand taels of silver..."

Hong Yu was speechless, realizing the previous owner must have used this line to trick Hong Lie before. He waved his hands, "Not that. You’ve been at the initial Eighth Rank Body Aura for two years. Do you want to break through?"

Hong Lie blurted out, "Of course, who doesn’t want to break through?"

He suddenly looked at Hong Yu suspiciously, "You didn’t get scammed by someone outside, did you? They’re all frauds, and some of those pills are even toxic..."

Hong Yu recalled that the previous owner had indeed fallen for such a scam, buying ten pills that claimed to boost one rank. He took them all at once, hoping to see what it was like to be above the First Rank True Union. The result was three days of vomiting and diarrhea, and he still didn’t break through.

Hong Yu looked at his brother sheepishly, and Hong Lie’s eyes showed a strange expression, clearly remembering that incident.

"Second Brother, don’t think Grandpa doesn’t care about you. You had diarrhea this morning, right?" Hong Lie suddenly said.

Hong Yu was puzzled, "How did you know?"

Hong Lie said enviously, "The beast meat porridge you had this morning contained nine precious herbs. Grandpa specially asked the chief physician of the Ten Thousand Life Hall to prescribe it, specifically for your constitution, to detoxify and strengthen your foundation. The chief physician’s consultation and the nine herbs cost 700,000 taels of silver! Our Hong family’s total annual income from all businesses is only 2.5 million taels. Grandpa specifically called you for breakfast because of that porridge! From now on, your cultivation will be much more efficient, and the aftereffects of your past playfulness will have minimal impact on your martial path."

Hong Yu was stunned, touched by the effort Grandpa had put in, which he had never mentioned.

"Also, the Xiushan Autumn Gathering is usually for Confucian disciples. This time, Grandpa sponsored the highest prize to get you in. But there were other families who wanted to sponsor it, so Grandpa spent 600,000 taels to have a famous weapon master, Sun Banshan, craft a precious mystic weapon, which outbid the others."

In the Qingyuan Continent, some skilled weapon masters can create weapons with special powers, known as mystic weapons.

Mystic weapons can harness the power of arrays to release the strong energy stored in their cores, which are made from beast brain crystals or mineral crystals. Some powerful mystic weapons can even draw on the ambient energy of the world, causing dramatic changes in the weather, which is on par with the First Rank True Union realm!

Thus, a suitable mystic weapon can greatly enhance a martial artist’s combat power, even doubling it!

For example, one of the five First Rank True Union experts of the Great Xia, Cao Guixiong, has a mystic weapon called the God-Slaying Axe. Cao Guixiong ranks high among the five First Rank True Union experts, and the God-Slaying Axe is a significant factor in his strength.

Hong Shengri’s Sun-Seizing Treasure Blade is also a mystic weapon, though not as powerful or famous as the God-Slaying Axe.

Hong Lie patted Hong Yu’s shoulder, earnestly saying, "Don’t let Grandpa’s efforts go to waste."

Hong Yu’s smile was forced. In this world, he was closest to his older brother, Hong Lie, and he understood Grandpa Hong Shengri. After all, anyone in charge of such a large family, dealing with a wasteful grandson like the previous owner, wouldn’t have a good attitude. But understanding and feeling close were different things.

However, he never expected that just because he wanted to read books recently, such a small change would make Grandpa so excited that he spent 1.3 million taels of silver! The Hong family’s annual fixed expenses were around 1.5 million taels, meaning that this year, all the extra funds, and even 300,000 taels from next year, were invested in him!

"Big Brother, I..." Hong Yu wanted to say something but couldn’t, falling back into his old habit of not easily expressing his feelings.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and looked at Hong Lie again, "Big Brother, do you trust me?"

Hong Lie smiled, "You’re my brother, of course I trust you."

"Then if I tell you I can help you break through, are you willing to take a chance with me?"

Hong Lie looked at him suspiciously, "Second Brother, you..."

Hong Yu pressed his hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes, "Big Brother, I’m really different now!"

If there was anyone in the entire Hong family who could trust Hong Yu without reservation at this moment, it was Hong Lie.

He laughed loudly, "Ha! Alright, I trust you. We’re brothers, if I can’t trust you, who can I trust in this world?"

Hong Yu smiled, "Alright, I’ll prepare. Wait for my news!"

Shen, who was hiding nearby, frowned. What does Young Master Yu mean? Can he help Young Master Lie advance? Is it like how he helped me?

Shen was suspicious as Hong Yu left for the military book library. Shen took the opportunity to hand Hong Yu over to Hong Yin, who was guarding the library, and hurried to see Hong Shengri.

After hearing his report, Hong Shengri frowned, "Does this little brat already know his abilities?"

Shen was unsure, "It doesn’t seem like it. Maybe Young Master Yu has some other method."

Hong Shengri thought for a moment and shook his head, "No, we can’t let this brat act recklessly. Go find Lie and tell him your experience... No, send someone to bring Lie here, and we’ll tell him together. Then tonight, you’ll protect him while he uses the brat’s help to advance as quickly as possible!"

Shen agreed that this was the safest approach. If Hong Yu acted on his own, who knew what might happen. Hong Shengri’s method had been tested and was safe and effective.

Soon, Hong Lie was brought in. With Hong Shengri as a witness, Shen recounted his experience, leaving Hong Lie speechless, "Grandpa, Uncle Shen, you mean Second Brother is a treasure now?"

Hong Shengri and Shen nodded. Hong Lie whistled, "I didn’t expect it. Lately, I’ve felt Second Brother is different, but this is really different!"

Hong Shengri said, "Go prepare. Try to break through tonight. If not, take a few more days. You’re cultivating the Northern Wasteland True Scripture, which is extremely powerful. Once you reach the middle Eighth Rank Body Aura, none of your classmates will be a match for you!"

"Yes, Grandpa!" Hong Lie was excited. He had endured so much humiliation at Liling Academy. If he could reach the middle Eighth Rank Body Aura, he could finally stand tall and release all his pent-up frustration. Who wouldn’t look forward to such a feeling?