Chapter 47

Yinlan Manor, Heize Garden.

A warrior, standing nearly 1.8 meters tall with an androgynous face, leaned against a willow tree, polishing a short sword.

Not far from him, Lan Shaoye was gritting his teeth, listening to two servants report...

"So, the assassin from Yingshan failed?" After hearing the report, Lan Shaoye struggled to adjust his breathing.

"Yes, according to Yingshan's rules, after the first failure, the second assassination attempt can only be initiated five days later..." The servant bowed, explaining cautiously.

"What if it fails again?" Lan Shaoye asked, suppressing his frustration.

"Then, five days later, the third attempt will be initiated," the androgynous warrior, without looking up, continued, "If it fails three times in a row, the mission will automatically be upgraded. After the upgrade, a higher-level Shadow King Order must be submitted. If it fails three more times, it will be deemed that the mission information was false, and it will be revoked."

The Yingshan system also has its own methods to cut losses.

For example, using a two-star Shadow King Order to buy Azhi's life is definitely impossible!

Lan Shaoye's breathing paused, and he clenched his cup. "Waste of space!"

The androgynous warrior frowned slightly. "Who are you calling that, Young Master Lan?"

Lan Shaoye quickly hid the shadow of gloom in his eyes. "Of course not you, Young Master Xu!"

"Best to show more respect to Yingshan!" The one polishing the short sword by the willow tree was none other than Lan Shaoye's top confidant, the three-star warrior Xu Qingyan!

Although Yinlan Manor had a four-star warrior, the core strength of three-star warriors was pitifully few. The few three-star warriors they had were mostly guest advisors.

Unlike Tang Family Fort, which, although lacking a four-star elder, had three brothers, each with three-star strength!

Therefore, Lan Shaoye had to be sufficiently accommodating in front of Xu Qingyan.

"Can Young Master Xu track his current position again?" Lan Shaoye asked Xu Qingyan.

"No." Xu Qingyan shook his head. "He left no residual star power."

Xu Qingyan, due to his unique star pattern talent, had determined Tang Zheng's location at Tang Family Fort that night in the alley by the residual star power on Xiao Gui.

However, star power fluctuations are like spilled spices; the shorter the time, the more accurate the tracking. Now, several days had passed since the alley fight, so how could it still be tracked?

"Actually, if Young Master Xu were to act personally..." The servant glanced cautiously at Xu Qingyan and suggested in a low voice.

"No!" Lan Shaoye immediately cut him off. "Everyone knows Xu Qingyan is my man. If anything goes wrong, I won't be able to explain to the ancestors why I sent him to Tang Family Fort..."

"Then... we wait for Yingshan's next... assassination?" The servant hurriedly lowered his head.

"Wait!" Lan Shaoye gritted his teeth, spitting out a single word.

The forces he could use were too few...

Apart from waiting for Yingshan's results, he had no other choice!

...

The night was cool, and the moon was bright.

After checking a few storage bags, Tang Zheng didn't stay long in Wulong Town. As soon as night fell, he left Wulong Town and returned to Tang Family Fort.

The carriage sped along the road.

Sitting in the carriage, Tang Zheng repeatedly drew his dagger from the sheath and put it back.

Since he had already bought a satisfactory dagger at the Treasure Pavilion, he didn't need to rush the bet with Bai Lianfang.

He could rest for a few days at Tang Family Fort before going to the Treasure Pavilion to learn forging from Ban Yilou slowly!

If he learned because of the bet, it would definitely be a quick and dirty method, lacking a solid foundation. But since the bet wasn't urgent, he decided to learn step by step.

"Heh, I've even prepared the apprenticeship gift..." Tang Zheng chuckled to himself.

When he returned to Tang Family Fort, it was already very late.

Tang Zheng felt a bit dazed, as if he had just returned home after shopping at the supermarket.

He put down the large and small storage bags, closed the door, watered the paper醉jinyi (a type of plant), and pulled the screen.

"Let's practice some martial arts again." Tang Zheng looked at the time; it was still too early to sleep.

So, he took out the "Dagger Technique" he had practiced a couple of times at the inn, not flipping to the back, but repeatedly practicing the opening moves.

After starting the martial arts practice, the flow of star power and the layering of star tides became more natural.

Basically, every three to four times he practiced the opening moves, a new strand of star power would be generated!

It was certainly tedious, but compared to grinding skill proficiency in his previous life, it was much better.

At least, the star tides in his body were constantly surging, and new strands of star power were being generated, quietly surpassing seven hundred strands...

"Phew..." Tang Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and stopped.

Whether it was the proficiency in martial arts or the star power in his body, the improvement felt particularly smooth.

If there were no accidents, by the time he mastered the opening moves of the "Dagger Technique," he should also have accumulated a thousand strands of star power, reaching the mid-one-star level!

Reaching the mid-one-star level requires a thousand strands of star power, reaching the high-one-star level requires three thousand strands, and reaching the peak-one-star level requires five thousand strands...

Generally, reaching the peak-one-star level allows one to start trying to light the second life palace.

However, for safety reasons, most warriors would continue to cultivate until they had seven to eight thousand strands of star power before attempting it.

The power of the main star is unpredictable.

Without full preparation, no one would dare to touch it lightly!

The next morning, the air was fragrant with flowers, and the sun was bright.

Tang Zheng hadn't even gotten out of bed when he heard Tang Xiaotang's voice outside: "Master! Has Master returned?"

Hearing her voice, he knew her star veins had almost fully recovered.

Tang Zheng smiled and got up.

Tang Xiaotang brought breakfast, and Tang Zheng asked if she had eaten. They both started eating in the courtyard.

"Are everyone... cough, everyone okay while I was away?" Tang Zheng asked, munching on a steamed bun.

"Not really." Tang Xiaotang shrugged.

"Hmm?" Tang Zheng's hand paused. "What do you mean?"

"Who knows? It just feels like something is missing."

Tang Xiaotang found it strange. Tang Family Fort had briefly invited masters before for reading and writing, and they had experienced it. Back then, everyone just wanted to finish class quickly and rush to the training ground to cultivate star power and practice martial arts.

But during the days Tang Zheng was away, they all felt a bit listless in the morning at the training ground.

It was as if Tang Zheng's morning class had become an important part of their lives.

"Oh," Tang Xiaotang, in a very unladylike manner, bit into a half-steamed bun, chewed, and pulled out Tang Zheng's identity badge from her pocket. "Here, this is for you."

"Thank you." Tang Zheng took it without changing his expression.

Tang Xiaotang's eyes were fixed on Tang Zheng...

Tang Zheng, of course, noticed immediately: "After a few days, did you find me even more handsome?"

Tang Xiaotang stuffed the bun into her mouth, almost choking with laughter. "Do you think... you're still in your growing years?"

Tang Zheng's face stiffened. "Don't hit the face, don't hurt the heart."

Tang Xiaotang carefully observed Tang Zheng's expression and said, "Oh..."

A bunch of questions were stuck in her throat.

She always felt that Tang Zheng's identity badge was fake. Although her father and brother had compared the patterns and found no differences, she had no evidence and couldn't take it to Bai Lianfang for verification. But she had a gut feeling...

However, she knew this was Wulong Town—ask as little as possible!

"Since Master is back, will we resume morning classes tomorrow?" Tang Xiaotang quickly changed the topic.

"Sure." Tang Zheng nodded, sipping his porridge.

Tang Xiaotang remembered something and suddenly said, "By the way, a guest has come to Tang Family Fort. My father and uncles are quite welcoming. He will be staying for a few days and brought a child. After hearing about your classes from Xiao Fengling, the guest decided to let the child join us."

Tang Zheng hummed, not taking it to heart.

It was just that he would need to pay special attention to the new student in class tomorrow.

Although he hadn't been a teacher in his previous life, he had been a student and knew roughly how to help a new student integrate quickly.

"However, that child is very strong..." Tang Xiaotang continued, "Only twelve years old, and already at the two-star level, even stronger than Fenghua Sister! It's unbelievable! We've been asking him for advice these past few days..."

"Ah!" Tang Zheng suddenly sprayed out his porridge.

Twelve years old? Two-star?

There might be very few such people in the entire Starfall Continent!

But he knew that there was one such person in Wulong Town right now...

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