The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 455 Murong Fu, He's a Little Extraordinary

Duan Yu had something on his mind, so he drank quite a bit of wine, becoming drunk and drowsy.

Perhaps feeling too uncomfortable from being drunk, he subconsciously circulated his internal energy, expelling the alcohol from his body along the meridians of his arm, starting from the Shaoze acupoint on his little finger.

The route through which its internal energy circulates is precisely the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian within the Six Meridian Divine Sword technique.

Therefore, Xu Xingchen watched helplessly as the guy opposite her would alternate between being drunk and sober, then continue to order the shop assistants to bring more drinks, then get drunk again, then sober again, then get more drinks; then get drunk again, then sober again, then get more drinks.
This cycle continued, and soon empty wine jars filled the space around the two of them.

The dozen or so people dining on the second floor kept glancing over with surprised eyes, each one secretly admiring the white-robed gentleman who could drink so much without getting drunk.

Xu Xingchen ate her meal slowly and deliberately, occasionally taking a sip of tea to moisten her throat.

He didn't want to dissuade Duan Yu from getting drunk; he just felt it was good to let off some steam.

After all, so many things have happened in just over half a year, and the birth of Duan Yu has undergone earth-shattering changes.

It's normal to not be able to adapt immediately.

During this time, Xu Xingchen also learned from a group of martial arts figures dining at a nearby table what had happened during Murong Fu's grand banquet the previous day.

At the banquet, hundreds of heroes from the martial arts world gathered, all demanding an explanation from Murong Fu.

Murong Fu first displayed his astonishing martial prowess, intimidating the martial arts heroes at the banquet who had not experienced the battle at the lakeside dock. He then began to appeal to their emotions and reason, explaining that he had been framed. Finally, he proposed that the martial arts heroes join him in investigating the real culprit and vow to bring justice to the deceased martial arts masters.

I heard they even formed some kind of revenge alliance, which they did very formally, attracting many followers.
Upon hearing this rumor, Xu Xingchen raised an eyebrow, feeling that Murong Fu seemed to be much more powerful than the one in the book.

They were able to launch a counterattack, reverse the situation, gather manpower, seize the opportunity to form alliances, and initially possess a scattered force.

Although that revenge alliance lacked a strict political system and hierarchical structure, it was an extremely loose organization.
But everything starts from scratch.
If Murong Fu truly possessed the strategic skills of a statesman, the talent of an orator, and considerable martial arts prowess, he might very well be capable of making some significant moves in the future.

But does Murong Fu really have this ability?
Xu Xingchen felt the chances were slim.

When the two left the restaurant, it was already afternoon.

Xu Xingchen wasn't in a hurry to return to Dayu Manor. Instead, she found an inn and booked two rooms so that Duan Yu, who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk but was mentally exhausted, could get a good rest.

He then left the inn and searched for shops along the street, ordering large quantities of rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, fruit, pastries, snacks, and other items, asking the merchants to deliver them to his door by horse-drawn carriage early the next morning.

Now, there are thousands of mouths to feed in the manor. Although those people have money and can come to Suzhou to buy things, Xu Xingchen can't go back empty-handed after coming out.

While shopping on the street, Xu Xingchen overheard an interesting piece of news.

Those were the words spoken by two ragged beggars as they walked. Although their voices were soft, they did not escape Xu Xingchen's ears.

Half a month later, the Beggars' Gang Conference will be held in Xingzilin outside Wuxi City.

At that time, all the elders of the gang will be there, and even the gang leader Qiao Feng will not be absent.
Watching the two beggars walk away with their dog-beating sticks, Xu Xingchen sighed, "Is the postponed Apricot Grove incident finally about to begin?!"

The next morning, Xu Xingchen, having rested for a night and recovered considerably, paid the bill, left the inn, and headed straight for the city gate.

Once outside the city gate, the carriages and horses sent by the shops had been waiting for a while along the roadside not far ahead.

Xu Xingchen stepped forward, negotiated with them, and then they set off together.

On the way, Duan Yu still looked somewhat listless. Xu Xingchen tried to start a conversation by asking him, "How's your practice of those two martial arts coming along?"

Duan Yu said, "I've become quite proficient at the Lingbo Weibu (Lingbo Steps), but as for the Beiming Divine Skill, I've only learned two internal energy circulation diagrams."

"Why is that?" Xu Xingchen glanced back at him, thinking to himself, "Could it be that he still thinks the Northern Darkness Divine Art is too evil and is unwilling to practice it?"

To everyone's surprise, Duan Yu replied, "I was accidentally burned by fire!"

This answer left Xu Xingchen speechless. Hadn't fate taken another turn?!
Although the carriages traveled slowly, it only took them an hour and a half to cover thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers).

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the caravan unloaded all their goods on a flat area, and, with the final payment and bonus from Xu Xingchen, happily drove their carriage back home.

Xu Xingchen led Duan Yu up the steps and soon arrived at the valley halfway up the mountain. Looking at the vast Dayu Manor in the distance, Xu Xingchen felt a sense of comfort.

There's a saying that goes, "There's no place like home."

Xu Xingchen seems to be feeling that way right now.

Duan Yu didn't feel anything. Although his own Dali Kingdom was small, the palace he frequented was much more magnificent than the manor in front of him.

However, when he saw the four characters "Da Yu Mountain Villa" written on the plaque above the gate of the villa, a look of surprise flashed across his face.

Then he turned and asked, "Northern Sea. Is there a fish?"

Xu Xingchen said with a smile, "Kun, isn't that just a big fish?!"

Duan Yu nodded seriously: "You're right; this name has a beautiful meaning." He knocked on the courtyard gate, and soon footsteps approached from afar, before the gate creaked open.

The burly man who opened the door saw Xu Xingchen and his expression changed. He quickly bowed, clasped his hands in greeting, and said loudly, "Master Xu, you're back!"

The sound reached the front yard, and the previously slightly noisy area immediately fell silent.

Then someone raised their voice.

"Master Xu is back!"

"Master Xu is back!"

"Master Xu is back!"

"."

Although Xu Xingchen had suppressed the internal energy of those guys inside, their strong bodies, honed through years of martial arts training, still allowed them to let out loud roars.

So, the cries of "Master Xu is back!" echoed from the back of the manor, and in a short while, they reached the entire manor.

Xu Xingchen stared meaningfully at the burly man who opened the door, and asked with a faint smile, "Have you guys been slacking off these past few days, which is why you were tipping each other off when I came back?"

The burly man shook his head vigorously, denying it repeatedly, saying, "No, Master Xu, you're overthinking it. The brothers are all very hardworking."

He thought to himself, "How could I possibly tell you about how we've been trying to break free from the restrictions within our bodies these past few days???"

Xu Xingchen remained unconvinced by the burly man's denial. Ever since he approached the manor, the magnetic rings within these people had resonated with his mind.

It was the same when I left, and it's the same when I come back.

No, it should be said that it is even stronger than when it left.

Clearly, these people had been up to no good while he was away.

Unfortunately, the Yuan Magnetic Ring, with its yin and yang cycles, forms its own system, existing only through borrowed forms, and endlessly regenerating.

The more they activated their internal energy, the more internal energy was borrowed by the Yuan Magnetic Ring.

If Xu Xingchen hadn't already dismantled the essence of the Star Absorbing Technique when he placed the restraints on them, these people's internal energy would have been completely devoured by the Yuan Magnetic Ring, and they would have died a violent death.

"Brother Duan, please come with me!"

Xu Xingchen called out to Duan Yu, then led the way across the threshold and went inside.

Duan Yu followed behind, looking at the burly men coming and going in the manor, and wondered: "Why are there so many martial arts practitioners in Brother Xu's manor?"

Xu Xingchen returned to her courtyard and set aside a room for Duan Yu to live in.

A short while later, the Bamboo Sword Envoy arrived and gave Xu Xingchen a detached report on the events of the past few days. He then led Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu, who had followed out of curiosity, through a side gate to the foot of a cliff.

There, hundreds of burly men wielded hammers and chisels, working and carving into the mountainside.

The clanging and banging sounds, mixed with the clattering of large pieces of gravel falling off, created an extremely busy scene.

These people are energetic and numerous, so they make rapid progress in their work.

Thirty-six pits have already begun to appear, and a large piece of rock has been reserved in the middle to be used to carve stone statues.

Upon seeing Xu Xingchen arrive, the workers ignored her, and some hot-tempered people couldn't help but snort or roll their eyes at her.

They only dared to be so rude because they felt that Xu Xingchen wasn't very bloodthirsty. If Tianshan Tonglao appeared in front of them, they would be kneeling down faster than anyone else.

Xu Xingchen didn't intend to intimidate these people like the Heavenly Child Granny. As long as they worked hard and didn't slack off, everything would be fine.

Seeing that these people were working quite diligently, Xu Xingchen returned to the courtyard and sat down to chat with Duan Yu.

A short while later, a fat and burly man came carrying a food box to deliver the meal. The dishes on the table looked very appetizing, and the taste was also quite good.

Duan Yu was somewhat surprised, and Xu Xingchen introduced with a smile: "Although this person is a Jianghu person, he loves to cook for himself the most in his life, so he has developed extraordinary culinary skills."

After the cook left, Duan Yu, who had been holding back for a long time, finally asked, "It seems that these people in your manor are all dissatisfied with you, and some even harbor resentment towards you; where did you find such a group of people?"

"Wow, I didn't expect you to notice so many things. It seems you've matured a lot in the past six months."

Xu Xingchen smiled and recounted the origins of these people, prompting Duan Yu to exclaim in surprise, "Although you have suppressed their internal energy, if they really want to fight you to the death, they might poison our food."

Xu Xingchen waved his hand confidently: "Don't be afraid, they wouldn't dare to poison me, because they can't hide it from my eyes and nose; even if they could, my internal energy is unparalleled, making me immune to all poisons, so they can't do anything to me."

(End of this chapter)