White-Robed Chief

“That makes sense. Let’s go.” Zhang Junrui nodded before he headed outside.

“Master, who hurt you?” Lu Xiaofeng immediately helped him up.

Zhang Junrui pushed his disciple’s arm away and refused his help. “It was impossible to tell amid a battle. Aren’t you going to check on Miss Yue Ru?”

“No.” Lu Xiaofeng looked upwards and shook his head.

He felt that he had hurt Miss Yue Ru’s feelings this time. Although Miss Yue Ru was also a disciple of the Four Major Sects and would probably understand his choice, he was worried that she would be angry anyway. If he were to head upstairs now, he would only be neglected. In this case, it was better to wait for things to simmer down.

Zhang Junrui glanced at him. He then shook his head and gave Lu Xiaofeng some advice. “Women change all the time. Do be careful.”

Taken aback, Lu Xiaofeng quickly replied, “Master?”

His master had always been careful with his choice of words and would never utter drivel.

Since he made this statement, something must have made him uncomfortable which compelled him to say so.

“Let’s go.” Zhang Junrui stepped out of Phoenix Goddess Brothel.

Lu Xiaofeng took one last glance at the brothel and followed him out.

…

Chu Li sat on his bed while Yue Ru sat by the table opposite him. She had her eyes closed as she pressed her fingers on the strings of her guzheng. The sound emanated from her instrument danced in the air as if danger was lurking at every corner.

Even though both of them were in Chu Li’s room, no one could hear the noise from the outside. Thus, Yue Ru could utilize the Musical Assassination Technique to her heart’s content.

When Yue Ru opened her eyes, she saw Chu Li was sat still on his bed, seemingly unaffected by the technique. Puzzled, she wanted to test how long he could endure the Musical Assassination Technique and so, she gradually increased the intensity of its effect by imbuing her cultivation skills into her guzheng.

Chu Li could sense the unusually fast circulation of Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture, speeding up together with the Great Light Scripture and Heavenly Demon Scripture. This pleased him greatly. Such stimulation meant an enormous reduction in the amount of time required for cultivation.

In other words, instead of cultivating in isolation, he could stay in Phoenix Goddess Brothel and let Yue Ru assist him. This way, his cultivation speed would be much faster as compared to staying at the Small Light Peak.

Yue Ru strummed the strings of her guzheng incessantly, as its crisp sounds crescendoed and resounded in the room.

Towards the end, the sounds died down slowly. She had exhausted her inner energy and could no longer utilize it.

“Pling…” The sounds of the guzheng ceased.

Yue Ru let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off her forehead — she was panting heavily.

She had played non-stop for three hours and her endless inner energy had been fully consumed. It was exciting at first, but unfortunately, her efforts had failed to harm Zhao Dahe. It was as if she was merely playing the guzheng to entertain him.

Slowly, Chu Li opened his eyes and his lips parted into a smile. “Thank you very much, Miss Yue Ru.”

“How was it?” Yue Ru asked.

Chu Li nodded and grinned. “Not bad, not bad at all!”

“I’m completely out of strength.” Yue Ru groaned. “Let’s continue tomorrow.”

Chu Li chuckled. “How about you all take turns? I don’t need to rest.”

“…Alright, I’ll get the master.” Yue Ru forced a smile. Then, she shook her head and stepped outside.

A moment later, Bai Feng entered before she sat down gracefully by the table. She said wanly, “I’ll do it!”

Chu Li said, “I shouldn’t trouble you!”

“I’ll see how long you can tolerate this.” Bai Feng was clothed in a snow-white gown and her beautiful face was like a slab of white jade. She said wryly, “The Musical Assassination Technique can help with one’s cultivation. It’s my first time hearing that the Holy Church of Light doesn’t have this technique.”

Chu Li shook his head. “I had a fortuitous encounter and I don’t just cultivate at the Holy Church of Light.”

“No wonder.” Bai Feng nodded gently and plucked at the guzheng’s string.

“Pling…” As soon as Chu Li heard the first note, his heart pounded.

‘Incredible,’ he mused. It was apparent that this was the work of an expert. A simple act of plucking the string resulted in an unimaginably deadly effect. If it were done by a Grandmaster, his force would have been torn to shreds.

“Pling pling…” Once again, the sounds resurfaced as if a horde of galloping stallions was rushing onwards with the force of a thunderous storm.

Chu Li shut his eyes and remained still. He formed the gesture of a mudra with his hands while the Buddha and Heavenly Demon in the void of his mind chanted mantras rapidly. Then, numerous lotus petals floated around and landed on his body at an accelerated pace.

Using her ultimate move, Bai Feng then released the greatest force of the Musical Assassination Technique.

However, Chu Li could not sense the flow of time. When the sound of the strings stopped and he woke up, the room was getting dark and outdoor lanterns had already been lit.

He cupped his fists and smiled. “Thank you very much, Senior.”

Bai Feng sat under the dim light and spoke softly, “Amazing, indeed!”

It had taken her five hours to completely exhaust her inner energy. Her dainty fingers were shaking ever so slightly. She shifted her hands under the table so that Chu Li won’t notice them.

When she cultivated back in the day, she had spent a similar amount of time but never had she used up so much effort until now.

However, seeing the lack of effect on Chu Li somewhat annoyed her. Was the Tian Luo Sect’s signature ability, the Musical Assassination Technique, really useless against him?

So, she utilized every last ounce of strength in her body in an attempt to show Chu Li who the boss was.

Unfortunately, all of her efforts were wasted. Chu Li was as stable as a rock and looked nonchalant as if he did not hear the sounds of her guzheng.

Chu Li said, “Thank you, Senior!”

For him, the results he achieved from his cultivation today was equivalent to that of seven or eight days. Undoubtedly, his cultivation progress had improved a lot.

“Fine.” Bai Feng shook her head. “Our Musical Assassination Technique is useless against you for sure.”

Chu Li laughed. “There’s no martial arts technique in this world which can’t be defended against. There’s always a way to go about it.”

“What are you cultivating?” Bai Feng asked curiously with a frown. “Of course, this is your biggest secret and you don’t have to tell me.”

Chu Li replied, “It’s alright as long as you don’t tell others about it. I’m cultivating the Great Light Scripture and Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture.”

“Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture!” Bai Feng shook her head and sighed. “I should have known!”

As a martial arts technique that could defend one against the Tian Luo Sect, it was natural the sect knew about Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture.

She observed Chu Li for a while and remarked, “I didn’t expect you to be able to cultivate it.”

Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture was not easy to cultivate. Its requirements were extremely high and those who managed to cultivate it were rare. If there were many cultivators, the Tian Luo Sect would have been destroyed a long time ago.

Those who cultivated the Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture were considered to be arch enemies of the Tian Luo Sect. More so, the Tian Luo Sect would instinctively react in a hostile manner.

Deep down, Bai Feng heaved a sigh of relief. She was lucky enough to form an alliance with someone who cultivated this scripture. He did a great service to the Tian Luo Sect as that meant one less enemy and one additional friend.

For the next few days, Chu Li spent his time in Phoenix Goddess Brothel, mainly because he feared the return of the Church of the Bloody Garment’s disciples. There were still ten of them, and judging by their bloodthirstiness, they would surely return for vengeance. However, his second reason was that it helped with his cultivation.

Bai Feng and Yue Ru took turns to play the guzheng. At the same time, they cultivated too.

At dawn, accompanied by Yue Ru, Chu Li arrived at Nine Star Tower to have breakfast.

When they reached the third floor, Chu Li was surprised to see Yang Ying.

Yang Ying was enjoying her food by the window, though a middle-aged woman was sitting in front of her. She was elegant and might have been a beauty in her younger days, but now, the woman was looked at Yang Ying silently.

Chu Li guessed that the middle-aged woman was Yang Ying’s master.

Suddenly, Yang Ying could sense that she was being watched. When she noticed Chu Li after she turned her head, she quickly lowered her gaze and resumed eating, pretending not to see him.

Chu Li coughed lightly and walked towards the table. “Miss Yang.”

Yang Ying said in a low voice, “Just act like you didn’t see me and I didn’t see you.”

Chu Li chuckled. “Why so?”

“Ying Er, who is this?” The middle-aged woman asked slowly.

Chu Li saluted with a smile. “My name is Zhao Dahe, and you are?”

“I am Weng Hua,” the woman answered.