Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chu Mingkong was studying the system in the courtyard when he suddenly received a notification that he had received 60 filial piety points.

"Where did it come from? Could it be that Aunt Gu opened the gift, was pleasantly surprised, and thought I was incredibly filial, so she showed off her filial piety again?"

It's most likely Aunt Gu; no one else would suddenly shower him with so much filial piety these days.

After struggling with this filial piety system, Chu Mingkong has gained a preliminary understanding of it.

This system allows you to argue and have conversations with him, but sometimes you just ignore him.

Spending a certain amount of filial piety points can upgrade the filial piety system. The improvements brought by this upgrade are mainly the enrichment of the store's content and the increase in the prize pool for blind box draws.

Filial piety is mainly earned by showing respect to elders and making them feel satisfied and happy, which will reward you with filial piety points.

"That means that apart from the very beginning when I sang a few lines of poetry about wine, Old Master Cui remained unmoved the rest of the time, yet he pretended to be satisfied! What a hypocritical old man!"

Although Chu Mingkong had guessed it long ago, he still felt that he had misplaced his trust. Only Zuo Qiuchi and Aunt Gu were truly moved by his filial piety!

The repeated reminder that "filial piety has not changed" also has its reasons.

The filial piety that can be obtained in ordinary times can be understood as gold used in the secular world, while corrupted filial piety is equivalent to spiritual stones used by immortals!

The degree of rarity is different.

So how do you obtain corrupted filial piety? You need to be bound to an elder. When Chu Mingkong's filial piety deeply moves this elder, and the bond between the younger generation and the elder deepens to a certain extent, he will receive corrupted filial piety. In addition, sometimes you will trigger filial piety tests; completing these tests will also grant you corrupted filial piety.

"Right now you can only bind one, but after the system upgrade you can bind two. Let's figure it out first before binding, to avoid any mishaps."

During his time as Xuanwu in the capital, Chu Mingkong became incredibly composed.

Upgrading the system to Tier 2 now requires 300 filial piety points, which isn't particularly expensive, so Chu Mingkong upgraded directly.

He glanced at the shop and noticed that there were indeed some new items—

Azure Thunder and White Tiger Totem Jade, 300 Filial Piety

"I remember that the mark on Feng Ying's lower abdomen was a silver tiger stripe, which is somewhat similar to the pattern on this Azure Thunder White Tiger Totem Jade, but this is too expensive."

The fixed price is 300 filial piety points, which is the same price as when he just upgraded his system. Upgrading from level two to level three is equally expensive, requiring 1000 filial piety points!

"Let's try our luck with a blind box first, and then send something to our master at home. Let's see if we can move him."

He opened three more blind boxes, first opening two to check what they contained: a pot of immortal wine and a box of rouge. He then didn't check the last one.

Blind boxes, by their very nature, represent surprises from the unknown. If they open a box and find something good, the elders experience double the joy, and naturally, the filial piety they receive is also doubled.

He sneaked into Zuo Qiuchi's room and found that his carefree and beautiful master had already closed his eyes to rest. Chu Mingkong knew that she must have sensed his arrival, but he did not disturb her. After putting down the gifts, he also went back to rest.

After he left, Zuo Qiuchi sat up, her pretty oval face with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye curiously examining the things on the table. She reached out and hooked them, taking them from a distance.

"This wine is quite good! It's brewed from rice grown in soil rich in spiritual energy, and it must be about two hundred years old. It's not that old, but it's still a fine wine!"

Rouge...? Am I supposed to use something like that? But I'll accept it as a token of my appreciation.

Chu Mingkong, who had just returned to his room, suddenly received 30 points of filial piety. He chuckled to himself, "Why pretend to be asleep? I just left and you got up to look at the gift. 30 points of filial piety is practically a gift. It's not a loss."

Zuo Qiuchi opened the gift box as well, her eyes narrowing slightly—it turned out to be a bellyband, and the style was rather flea-like.

"But this material is something else. The defensive power of a single piece of woven fabric is comparable to that of a Xuan-grade breastplate, and it feels comfortable to the touch. This kid must have given it to me because of its extraordinary effect, and I guess he didn't have any bad intentions. But he's really too disrespectful. Can you just give a bellyband to your elders like that?!"

Chu Mingkong had just lain down on the bed when he suddenly opened his eyes: "70 filial piety points?! Could it be a surprise feedback from that unopened blind box?! Looks like I can just draw gifts from here from now on!"

Aside from her sword, Zuo Qiuchi rarely relied on external objects. Her clothes were all made by ordinary weavers. She had finally acquired a protective robe in the style of a bellyband, so she naturally tried it on. It was indeed more comfortable than a regular bellyband.

Suddenly, a soaring sword intent appeared outside the city, and it was aimed at her.

Zuo Qiuchi recognized the owner of the sword intent and wondered, "That's strange. Why is this guy looking for me instead of Chu Mingkong?"

Chapter Thirteen: It must have been the Empress who did it!

In the stillness of the night, two figures in white stood facing each other on the outskirts of the capital.

Although both are exceptionally beautiful figures, a closer look reveals their differences. One woman in white is impeccably dressed, with no superfluous movements in her posture, while the other is casual and carefree, her steps exuding a relaxed and languid air.

"It's been so long since I've seen you. You've been in seclusion for far too long. Why are you coming to see me all of a sudden?" Zuo Qiuchi looked at the other person with a puzzled expression, reaching out to catch the snow falling from the night sky. "You've brought snow into this summer night as well."

The woman who came to find her late at night was Xiao Yunhan, another female sword immortal of the contemporary era. She was also Chu Mingkong's half-sister. Due to some events, she left the Chu King's lineage in Xiling a long time ago. It was not long after Zuo Qiuchi left Xiling that Xiao Yunhan also left the royal palace decisively, almost to the point of severing ties, which shocked many people at the time.

After that, Xiao Yunhan returned to the capital and stayed at her mother's family home, the Xiao family, for a while before entering a sect to cultivate in seclusion. She reached the Sword Immortal realm only two years later than Zuo Qiuchi.

"I heard you've made a mess of Mingkong's reputation, so bad that I can hear it even where I'm in seclusion. I've come here specifically to see how you're behaving as a teacher!"

As expected, they came in a menacing manner to demand an explanation. Everyone outside says that Xiao Yunhan has had a falling out with her parents and severed ties, but she still cares about them a lot in private.

Zuo Qiuchi could understand the emperor's wariness of the Xiling Prince's Mansion. It was a noble family with its own army and a different surname. Its daughter, Xiao Yunhan, born from a marriage alliance with the Xiao family, one of the five great families in the capital, was exceptionally talented. Its illegitimate son, Chu Mingkong, who was brought back from who-knows-where, was also a powerful man.

Zuo Qiuchi yawned nonchalantly, which made Xiao Yunhan frown even more. She flicked her finger and shot out a sword aura to make Zuo Qiuchi take the situation seriously.

The sword energy had no killing intent, but being hit by it out of nowhere would still upset him. Zuo Qiuchi originally wanted to wave his hand to block it, but then he suddenly remembered that Chu Mingkong had given him a soft armor-like undergarment, so he decided to give it a try.

The sword energy flew like an ice spike, leaving a trail of frosty white in the air, and instantly attacked Zuo Qiuchi. However, a layer of light appeared and blocked the sword energy in front of Zuo Qiuchi.

Xiao Yunhan knew a little about Zuo Qiuchi's temperament, and while she was dissatisfied, she was also curious about her changes.

"You've always disliked relying on external magical artifacts, so why are you secretly wearing defensive robes? Have you learned your lesson from someone who taught you to be cautious?"

I'll suffer a huge loss at someone else's hands? Are you kidding me!

Zuo Qiuchi understood the implication in the other party's words, and with one hand pulled down the collar of her clothes, revealing her already faintly visible collarbone to Xiao Yunhan.

She pointed to the undergarments on the two graceful peaks and said expressionlessly, "Don't guess why I'm wearing a Buddhist robe. See? It was a gift from your brother Chu Mingkong. It's a token of filial piety, and I couldn't refuse it."

Xiao Yunhan's face frosted over, and she coldly retorted, "Are you sick?!"

She really wanted to test Zuo Qiuchi's sword right now to see if her strength could withstand this rude and outrageous provocation, but she calmed down.

She doesn't get to come out often, and making too much noise could easily cause trouble, so there's no need to waste too much time on Zuo Qiuchi.

"I'll ask you for advice again next time, to see how capable you are as a teacher!"

"So what do you want from me so late at night?"

"Call Mingkong out, but don't tell him it was me."

Is that all? Couldn't you have gone to get him yourself? Was it really necessary to go through all that trouble to call me out?

Zuo Qiuchi understood her thoughts perfectly. She probably wanted to hide her identity and then test Chu Mingkong's current strength to see if he had really wasted his spirit as rumored.

Although he can't use his full strength now, he has only lost some control over spiritual energy; he can still use his sword and spear techniques.

After a moment of silence, Zuo Qiuchi shook his head and said to her, "You're so dramatic. You could have just said it to my face. Was it really necessary to be like this?"

Xiao Yunhan ignored her, lest she abandon her responsibilities and not go to call Chu Mingkong. Zuo Qiuchi's carefree and unrestrained personality, to put it nicely, is called open-minded; to put it bluntly, it's just being a bit dim-witted. Not everyone can learn that.

Just as Zuo Qiuchi was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and said smugly, "Don't blame me for not telling you, Mingkong has already been taught to be a sword immortal by me. Her sword intent is full of my shadow. She has forgotten the few moves you taught her before!"

"Teach a sword immortal? What can a half-baked person like you teach? You used to just let him slack off all the time."

Faced with Zuo Qiuchi's nonsense, Xiao Yunhan naturally didn't believe it, and swung her sword to drive her away.

Seeing that Xiao Yunhan didn't believe him, Zuo Qiuchi was even more delighted. "You'll be surprised soon enough!"

Should we wait and come over to watch? Forget it, it's more comfortable to go back and lie down. It's enough to have Mingkong report the situation when he comes back.

Few people in the world can achieve such a feat as teaching a sword immortal, and Zuo Qiuchi wanted to announce this to the world.

That ancestral sword has most likely made a sound, and those sects and holy lands are still unaware of who the new sword immortal is, or who taught such a hero. How anxious they must be!

Considering Chu Mingkong's current special circumstances, Zuo Qiuchi kept quiet. He never expected that his sister would come to his door in person to satisfy his desire to show off. How thoughtful!

Chu Mingkong was like a spirit in a bellyband, and he was very considerate to her. Unexpectedly, his older sister was just as considerate!

--------

A high-class venue for appreciating music and dance.

Scantily clad women, holding wine glasses and smiling, served the customers who had come to spend money. Some were still watching the dance, while others had already taken their beauties into the rooms for illicit activities.

Chu Mingkong dressed in exotic attire and wore a mask, so no one recognized his identity.

Walking through this place of pleasure, he kept encountering girls who pressed themselves against him, but he always dodged them with his agility, causing them to miss their target and fall to the ground in pain.

It can be said that he passed through a sea of ​​flowers without a single petal clinging to him.

The woman behind him kept complaining.

"What's going on with this official?"

"Go and call the madam."

"Is he going upstairs to watch a play? Judging by his robust physique, how could he have such a perverse hobby..."

Chu Mingkong was speechless as he listened to these speculations. Playing with a young male concubine was not mainstream in this world, but it was considered an elegant thing in small circles. Putting it in public would be extremely shameful and would damage one's reputation if it got out.

Those places where you play with the rabbit figurines are usually ostensibly for listening to the young male opera singers. After the opera singers finish performing, it's time to play with the young male opera singers. And the secrecy measures are quite good. There's usually a girl on standby. If anything unexpected happens, they'll say they were just having a friendly chat with the girl in the building and don't know where the young opera singer came from, and they'll vehemently deny playing with the young male opera singers.

"The club in the capital is quite prestigious. The bodyguards are all at least at the third level. I just sensed a late-stage fourth-level person observing me from the shadows. It seems they already suspect me."

Chu Mingkong wouldn't come to a place like this to stir up trouble with fencing; he has no interest in that kind of refined pursuit.

When we went to the Cui family during the day, Cui Lian and the others spoke ill of Aunt Gu, which is unforgivable.

“I can pretend nothing happened because of my sister-in-law, but I’m sorry for speaking ill of Aunt Gu. Besides, I can’t imagine how Aunt Gu has ever been treated this way, since you dared to say so loudly in the house that Aunt Gu is unlucky.”

Chu Mingkong took out a newly bought heavy sword, a piece of equipment that cost less than an ounce of silver.

The room in front of him was where Cui Lian and his cronies socialized. Laughter could be heard through the door, and occasionally a weak male voice could be heard speaking, seemingly very popular.

The moment he drew his weapon, a majestic voice resounded within the brothel, accompanied by the oppressive aura of a Grandmaster's sword—a warning to Chu Mingkong.

"Sir, please stop. This is a place of pleasure. Drawing weapons would spoil the mood. May I ask your name? Have I offended you in any way? My name is Diao Yuan. I have been invited to oversee this place. I hope you will give me the honor."

"You haven't offended me, it's just that a few guests have. Here's the money for the building repairs, keep the change. I am Zhang San, and I will not change my name or surname!"

Chu Mingkong tossed a bundle of silver notes into the air, and a shower of silver notes immediately fell inside the building.

People downstairs, unaware of what was going on, thought it was some kind of program and cheered loudly.

"How dare you! Do you really think I don't exist?"

The fourth-tier sword cultivator who was stationed here saw Chu Mingkong raise his hand and swing his sword. He roared and manipulated two flying swords to stab at Chu Mingkong.

The other guards quickly gathered and surrounded "Zhang San".

Chu Mingkong picked up the heavy sword with one hand and casually swung it. The sword light was like a thunderous roar, and the group of guards who had just rushed up were sent flying without any resistance.