Volume Two: The Anbei Consortium Chapter Ten: Someone Is Stirring Up Trouble in the Shadows

After their lessons, Li Yu led the dispirited Qing Anqi along the path back to their lakeside cottage, somewhat worried. “I hope I didn’t hit her too hard…”

But there was nothing he could do. This little brat Qing Anqi was always bouncing around in front of him, and he simply couldn’t resist—he’d subconsciously activated the system’s cheat. In no time, he’d mastered three secret techniques, even if two of them were ones his puppet had already previewed.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that he’d landed a heavy blow on everyone’s hearts.

Goodness, if not for the fact that most of these teachers had spent years, even decades, studying these secret arts, they would never have believed someone could simply watch once, try once, and immediately grasp the essence.

Learning, after all, could be divided into three stages: understanding the basics, mastering them completely, and finally, mastering them with creative insight.

The first stage, understanding the basics, meant having a rough grasp of the techniques, knowing how to operate them, and being able to perform them.

The second stage, mastery, meant being able to use them skillfully and instinctively.

The third stage went beyond mastery, incorporating one’s own style and characteristics—what people called reaching new heights.

Li Yu’s memory was extraordinary, and after taking the Marrow Cleansing Pill several times, he’d achieved perfect control over his body. Even without using proficiency boosters or double-proficiency items, he could learn anything with just a bit more time.

This was why the puppet could so perfectly take his place in the other world—he had such a solid foundation.

But whenever his true self was present, he would always use check-in rewards to learn new things. There was no other reason but to cultivate the image of an unrivaled genius.

After dinner, Qing Anqi buried herself in her room.

“Is that girl really alright?” Li Yu glanced over a few times, then returned to his own room and released the puppet.

“Let’s cultivate together,” Li Yu tossed a piece of lightning-struck wood to the puppet. The puppet was like a second cheat for his cultivation—not only could it help refine spiritual power, it could also practice techniques in his stead.

No wonder it was rated five stars.

“Yes, Master,” the puppet replied, accepting the lightning wood.

The night passed quietly.

Ever since Li Yu and Qing Anqi had gone through that abduction and escape together, his restrictions within the Qing family had loosened considerably.

Xiao Cui had later explained his status as a ‘seed.’ If the Qing family’s inner circle were divided into hundreds of ranks, he would be at the very top among his peers—entitled to the highest resources and treatment.

The next morning, Xiao Cui had prepared a lavish breakfast in the lakeside pavilion.

Li Yu picked up a piece of blue, shimmering vegetable. “What is this?” Judging by its appearance, was it even edible or just a decoration?

“Young Master, this is a ninth-grade spiritual plant—Hollow Thunder Blue. It’s very beneficial to your body!” Xiao Cui introduced.

Beneficial? It was probably to purify his bloodline or something similar.

Li Yu didn’t dwell on it. Though his thunder bloodline had been perfect from the start—pristine and flawless, able to command innate thunder—he appreciated the Qing family’s gesture.

He knew they certainly had their own designs for the future, but for now, their kindness was genuine.

He quickly finished his meal and began his day: scholarly studies in the morning, martial training in the afternoon.

Today, Qing Anqi seemed to have something to do and didn’t show up all day. In the evening, Li Yu once again released his puppet.

“Stay here for me,” he instructed, and with a thought, returned to Blue Star.

…

Li Yu sighed.

So busy. After two full days of focused cultivation in the other world, he had to hurry back to visit the bedridden elder.

“What? He’s recovered?” Li Yu was surprised. He checked his phone—he was right, only one day had passed on Blue Star.

“Heh, did you think I’d have to stay in bed for two days?” Chen Chengde laughed heartily over the phone. He put it on speaker and, clad in training clothes, suddenly suggested, “Do you have time? Why not come over and spar a bit?”

Chen Chengde was no ordinary old man, so his idea of exercise was certainly not just jogging or walking.

Li Yu’s interest was piqued. “Sure, where are you? I’ll take a cab over.”

This was a rare opportunity for Li Yu to gauge the strength of martial artists on Blue Star—something he had always been curious about. He hadn’t had a proper chance to investigate before; after all, though he was still a teenager, he wasn’t a delinquent—he couldn’t just pick fights with martial arts masters. That wouldn’t be “exchanging skills,” but causing trouble.

Following the address Chen Chengde sent, Li Yu arrived at a detached villa forty minutes later.

He joked, “Your house is pretty big. Did you mortgage it to pay that 1.5 billion?”

“Of course not!” Chen Chengde squinted. “The money’s gone, the item was snatched.”

“…”

“But I gained a blessing in disguise. Come on, let’s train!” Chen Chengde invited.

He made sure to express his gratitude to Li Yu. After all, it was Li Yu who had tipped him off about the spiritual plant—without him, he’d never have bought it. Even though it was later stolen, the elders had already credited him with a major contribution.

Besides, he didn’t have to worry about what came next.

They entered the villa together.

Li Yu wondered privately: Did this blessing in disguise mean he’d consumed part of the spiritual plant and gained strength?

From the moment he saw Chen Chengde, he’d sensed the man’s aura had grown deeper and longer, a clear sign of progress in his martial arts.

The ground floor had been specially remodeled. The spacious interior contained nothing but wooden dummies and fitness equipment, with soft mats covering the floor. Li Yu touched the walls—they were covered in special padding as well.

Only after close inspection did he realize the entire wall was made of custom cushions.

“What are you good at, young friend?” Chen Chengde asked.

He pulled over a mobile weapon rack, displaying every weapon style from five thousand years of Chinese history.

So even sparring nowadays required weapons…

“The longsword,” Li Yu replied. In the other world, he had learned the Lady Buddha Sword technique. Though its true power was only revealed when one could release spiritual energy at the sixth grade, he could still easily defeat martial artists of his own level with it.

Chen Chengde selected a longsword and tossed it to Li Yu.

The sword gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Li Yu weighed it in his hand, then spun elegantly and drew a sword-flower, the blade singing crisply.

Even this small display stunned Chen Chengde. Anyone who hadn’t trained for years would be incapable of such skill. He was about to speak but then saw Li Yu begin to wield the sword in earnest.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, bathing Li Yu in golden light. He seemed to merge with the sword, every movement as graceful as a dancing maiden.

Chen Chengde was momentarily at a loss.

It wasn’t just Li Yu’s exquisite swordplay—it was that he couldn’t recognize the style at all. There was not a trace of familiarity.

“Perhaps… it comes from there?” Chen Chengde speculated. Just as Li Yu sheathed his sword, he spoke, “Young friend, I invited you here today partly to spar. It’s been too long since I’ve faced a fresh opponent—all my old friends’ moves are second nature by now.”

“But I also wanted to warn you to be careful. Lately, a certain faction has been targeting those who attended the auction that day.”

“The real target isn’t the auction itself, is it?” Li Yu shook his head. “It’s clearly about the last two centerpiece items.”

This wasn’t hard to guess—just yesterday, Chen Chengde had been attacked.

Apart from the final two items, the rest of the auction lots were nothing special. If it was only about money, there was no need to target all the attendees.

Unless the perpetrators were trying to cover their tracks, making it impossible for others to guess their true intent.