Chapter 140 – The Most Unique Sixth Rank, Revealing the Blood Blade Patriarch’s Identity - Part 2

Li Yuan crouched, resting his hands gently on Tang Nian’s shoulders. After a brief pause, he spoke softly, “I know you’re still sad. I won’t tell you to snap out of it or hurry up and be happy... Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

He ruffled her hair with a tender smile.

“Godfather...” Tang Nian murmured, then nodded. “I’ll be careful.”

“All right,” Li Yuan said with a laugh, standing. He pointed at the tall, faceless puppet. “Do me a favor. Control that thing at full power and attack me. I want to test a few things.”

Tang Nian hesitated. She barely knew anything about Li Yuan’s combat abilities, much less his identity as the Blood Blade Patriarch. So she worried aloud, “It’s really strong. I...I’m afraid it might hurt you.”

Glancing at his own combat power of 635~1,135, Li Yuan just smiled. “I appreciate your concern, but I might be a touch stronger than you imagine.”

Tang Nian bowed. “Please be careful.”

She retreated a step, and without so much as a gesture to trigger its mechanisms, the faceless puppet moved at her silent command.

Click!

Its sword-box cracked open, revealing three blades on each side. The puppet grabbed a sword in each of its two hands; then, four extra arms sprouted from its back, taking hold of the other four blades.

It stamped the ground. Snow sprayed up in a wild surge, like a meteor strike, blanketing the courtyard in a swirling white cloud. Suddenly, a fearsome silhouette emerged from the haze, six swords flashing in a deadly, intersecting web of cold light.

Such a barrage of killing intent would force anyone to take it seriously. For example, a newly risen sixth rank like Zhao Xiantong would never dare to meet it head-on. It was approaching the upper limits of seventh rank power.

But Li Yuan only closed his eyes.

Startled, Tang Nian shouted, “Godfather! I can’t stop it!”

In the next instant, Li Yuan seemed as light as paper, drifting through the storm of blades and windblown snow. One sword slash...two...three...each one swept past him without drawing a single drop of blood. Not even his clothes were touched.

Tang Nian could only stare. Li Yuan, too, was quietly testing his new abilities. He needed no conscious effort; pure instinct guided each dodge. This heightened awareness was one of the extraordinary changes brought on by the shadow blood coiled around his heart—the same keen senses that allowed General Mammoth to slip past his City Toppler.

Worry morphed into astonishment, then hardened into unwillingness to accept defeat. Silent and determined, Tang Nian tightened her mental grip on the puppet. Its sword thrusts turned yet more ferocious, but still failed to land on Li Yuan.

Sweat beaded on her brow. Shaking her sleeves, she released six metal butterflies. Li Yuan could sense every shift in the courtyard, so her move didn’t catch him off-guard. Finding the girl’s stubborn pride rather endearing, he called out, “Go ahead!”

Gritting her teeth, Tang Nian lifted both hands, and the six iron butterflies buzzed, flickering their razor-thin wings in a circle of flashing steel. “Attack!”

They streaked through the air in concert with the puppet’s six blades, enveloping Li Yuan. Sword light and silver arcs swept overhead, while Li Yuan barely budged, weaving in place like a wobbling top and leaving phantom afterimages behind. He hardly took a single step.

After a few moments, Li Yuan decided he’d had enough. With one swift motion, he scooped all six butterflies into his left hand. His right hand halted the puppet’s blades. Everything froze. Tang Nian, breathing hard, looked crestfallen.

She’d believed she was already strong, yet her godfather stopped her prized creations as if they were merely toys. Noticing her disappointment, Li Yuan returned the butterflies, ruffled her hair, and said gently, “Don’t worry; it’s only natural. I’ve reached sixth rank now, so it’s tough for any seventh rank puppet to do much against me.”

“I see,” Tang Nian said softly, clenching her fists. In truth, Tang Qiu had divulged the name of their enemies to her before he died.

The He Family has a patriarch who’s a sixth rank powerhouse. Never challenge them until you’re absolutely sure you can win.

So this is the might of a sixth rank martial artist?

Tang Nian thought. If she couldn’t best even her godfather, how could she avenge her father’s clan? Especially since he was only a strong person in a small frontier county...

“Godfather, I...I...” The young girl’s eyes shone with tears as she lifted her chin defiantly.

Reading her expression, Li Yuan knew exactly what she was feeling. Steadying his voice, he said, “I’ll be here whenever you want to try again. The day you beat me, that’s when you’ll see just how far you’ve come.”

Tang Nian nodded firmly, kindling a fresh flame of resolve in her eyes.

“The fact that I’ve reached sixth rank is a big secret. To the outside world...I’m still just...” Li Yuan paused, somewhat distracted, before continuing, “eighth rank.

“Right now, only your two godmothers and you know the truth. Can you keep it secret for me?”

“I can!” Tang Nian felt a warm rush of gratitude. Being trusted in such a way filled her heart.

Satisfied, Li Yuan ran a few more tests on his heightened senses. He then picked up a book for a quick read. Though he hadn’t reached the level of perfect photographic memory, he was close; after going through it twice, he could recite every word verbatim.

Once he was done, he ate lunch and mulled over the last two things left to test.

“Both require the ancestral seal. The ancestral seal is some kind of mysterious symbol that appears naturally once the brain is enhanced. You write it with your own shadow blood, and it serves two main purposes.

“First, it repels evil. I saw Zhao Xiantong use his ancestral seal to drive away several ghost-servants in that mass-grave ghost domain.

“Second, it heals. Both Zhao Xiantong and General Mammoth survived the grievous wounds I gave them. The moment they pressed the shadow blood talisman onto those wounds, they recovered almost instantly.”

He paused. “So why haven’t I seen any sign of my own ancestral seal?”

That afternoon, Li Yuan turned his mind inside out searching for it, but to no avail. Nothing.

“Could it be that because I created my own technique, I simply don’t have one? Or did I miss a crucial step somewhere?”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Night fell.

After Xue Ning had lulled little Ping’an to sleep, she discreetly handed him over to Yan Yu.

These days, if she and Yan Yu got the urge, one would watch the children while the other enjoyed some private time with their husband. Ever since her pregnancy, and with attentive care afterward, Xue Ning had become even more radiant and alluring.

That evening, half-hidden by the soft curve of her silk undergarment, her skin seemed snowy white. Her figure was temptingly lush, like sweet fruit bending a branch.

Li Yuan, newly advanced to sixth rank, no longer had to worry about contraception—allowing them a certain carefree freedom that only heightened their intimacy.

This sweet, peaceful daily life smoothed away his lingering vexations and sparked a new idea.

The next morning, Li Yuan took a sharp dagger and pressed it lightly to his left forearm, slicing down. Immediately, blood welled up, thick and dark, covering the wound—and then, almost miraculously, the gash sealed itself in an instant.

He continued experimenting. Every time he cut himself, the escaping shadow blood knit the flesh back together almost immediately. It was as if he had skipped the step of actually painting his ancestral seal.

Delving deeper, he tried shaving off a small fragment of skin. The loose piece immediately reattached to his body. Even driving the knife tip clean through the side of his arm did nothing; the hole vanished in a blink, leaving no scar whatsoever.

Li Yuan finally understood. He really had bypassed the usual process of drawing a talisman with shadow blood. But why? Was it that every other sixth rank expert needed the talisman to access these abilities, while he simply...didn’t?

Realizing that he hadn’t actually missed out on anything, Li Yuan felt calmer. Next, he resolved to compile his technique into a proper cultivation manual on his own. While writing it, he would look for possible paths forward, be it in terms of method or resources.