Chapter Eleven: Preparations
However, it probably wasn’t anyone from the Tianlong Pavilion today. Even if they wanted to deal with me, they wouldn’t dare to make such a blatant move. That means... these people are coming straight for me—for the identity of Tu Lu!
With this thought, Tu Lu furrowed his brow, countless ideas flashing through his mind.
First, there was his identity: merely a poor youth from the slums, not exactly a paragon of virtue, but certainly not someone who would provoke any serious trouble.
Second, even if he had inadvertently offended someone important, unless it involved immense interests or deep-seated enmity, they wouldn’t go to such lengths just to find him.
That only left the Thunderstone.
But aside from his sister, only two others knew he possessed the Thunderstone: the red-bearded strongman Ding San, and the little girl.
My sister was right; I was too naive. Had I ended that strongman once and for all that day, had I not let pity cloud my judgment, none of this disaster would have come.
As for Uncle Zhong...
Thinking of Uncle Zhong, his mood grew complicated. The sadness on Zhong’s face was certainly not an act; given the strange happenings in the slums, something significant had indeed occurred. The matter of Mrs. Zhong... might even be true.
If it were his usual temperament, he would surely try to save her!
But Uncle Zhong was too honest, incapable of lying. Every word he spoke was riddled with contradictions, especially regarding his sister. Even if he were slow-witted, he would know those were lies!
Those words were clearly intended to lure him to Wang Xiaoba’s home.
If his guess was right, there was a trap waiting for him there!
He didn’t know why Uncle Zhong was helping those people, but even if there was a reason as great as the heavens, the act itself... chilled his heart.
After a long time, he finally let out a breath, closed his eyes, and reorganized his thoughts.
For them to set such a trap... they must fear his power, demonstrated when he defeated Ding San with a single punch. Judging from this, there shouldn’t be any cultivators among them, or else they wouldn’t need such petty tricks.
But what they could never imagine was... the punch that felled Ding San was not his true strength. Even more unimaginable, he was now a guest of the Tianlong Pavilion and held the Tianlong Token!
Since that was the case, even if it was a trap, there was nothing to fear!
With this, Tu Lu opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.
He would never harm another without cause, but whoever tried to harm him—no matter who they were, even if it was the City Lord’s Mansion—he would not let them go, especially when innocent people were involved. That... had crossed his bottom line!
Still, just in case, preparations had to be made.
He pondered for a moment, then sat cross-legged. With a turn of his hand, he took out the Tianlong Token, grasped it tightly, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness sink into the token.
Inside the Tianlong Token, at the top of the space, lay a seven-colored dragon scale—the token’s very core!
The special power of the Tianlong Token lay in that dragon scale.
The scale possessed two abilities: first, an innate illusion effect. Paired with his newly learned Nine-Lock True Spirit Technique, it could even fool a peak Moving Mountain cultivator!
Secondly, it boasted tremendous defensive power.
The Tianlong Token was, after all, a magical treasure. As long as it was charged with enough energy, it could unleash terrifying defenses at critical moments—defense that even a cultivator who had entered the Filling Sea realm could not break!
This was his greatest reliance at present.
As his blood and energy surged, a wind rose within the Tianlong Token, sweeping across the Thunderstones. Dozens of first-grade Thunderstones instantly turned to powder, their vast energy flooding into the seven-colored dragon scale above!
Still, it was not enough. Tu Lu grimaced, gritted his teeth, and absorbed a thumb-sized second-grade Thunderstone, gleaming with blue starlight. He filled the scale with most of its energy; the scale finally flickered, as if it had eaten its fill and could receive no more.
He exhaled in relief, opened his eyes, and with a flick of his hand, scattered a pile of broken stones. They looked no different from ordinary rocks by the roadside, but only he knew that moments ago these fragments had contained tremendous energy—Thunderstones!
The consumption was enormous!
He shook his head, but the thought of the power he now possessed invigorated him.
From the information he had gleaned from the Tianlong Token, what the seven-colored dragon scale truly required was the pure energy of a cultivator who had reached the Purple Mansion realm after the Filling Sea—a power capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a Purple Mansion expert!
Such defense... Filling Sea cultivators could never break. Thunderstones were merely substitutes for Purple Mansion energy.
Even as substitutes, it took the equivalent of over fifty first-grade Thunderstones to fill the scale. Though it might not withstand a Purple Mansion cultivator, it was more than enough to block a Filling Sea attack.
He tucked the Tianlong Token away with a turn of his hand, then stood, gazing in the direction of Wang Xiaoba’s home, striding forth!
...
Elsewhere, in Wang Xiaoba’s home, a dozen burly men sat around a banquet table, feasting and drinking without a hint of vigilance.
The chief steward occupied the seat of honor, eyes narrowed as if waiting for something. Only Zhong Dahai stood hunched to the side, looking lost and dazed.
Suddenly, with a thunderous crash, the gate shattered. The gatekeeper was hurled inside like a sack!
“Insolence!”
The chief steward’s narrowed eyes snapped open. With a harsh shout and a sweep of his sleeve, a violent wind caught the man, setting him down. He slapped the table, and in an instant, eighteen dark figures surged from all sides of the courtyard, surrounding Tu Lu at the center!
Tu Lu glanced at the eighteen men encircling him, sensing something strange. He furrowed his brows, but showed no fear. He stomped the ground, unleashing a gust of blood-qi gale!
The dozen shadows were instantly swept up as if tossed into a raging sea, battered and scattered by the waves. Yet as soon as they were dispersed, they regrouped like receding tides, tightly encircling Tu Lu once more!
“Out of my way!”
Tu Lu roared, striding forward and striking with his palm!
The palm wind crashed onto one of the shadows, but at the very moment the shadow was struck, huge rings of runes lit up on the ground. The dozen shadows seemed to unite as one, rising off the earth!
Tu Lu’s expression changed!
The force he had sent into the shadow’s body was dispersed among all eighteen figures, rendering what should have been a fatal blow utterly insignificant!
He immediately withdrew to the center, while the eighteen shadows again settled around him, holding him at bay but not attacking, caught in a moment’s stalemate.
“Impressive, impressive! You possess the strength of a peak Martial Breaker. No wonder you dared to seek me out!”
The chief steward laughed heartily, leading the burly men over.
“Unfortunately, you underestimate the Shadow Guard Eighteen Array. Unless you’re a cultivator, even a half-step Moving Mountain realm is useless. I am quite curious—how did you, at such a young age, attain this level of power?”
Tu Lu swept the group coldly, finally settling his gaze on the chief steward. Noting the man’s attire, he frowned. “You’re from the City Lord’s Mansion?”
The chief steward narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Indeed, I am from the City Lord’s Mansion. You don’t seem like these ignorant commoners, so you must know my purpose. Hand over the Thunderstones—they do not belong to you!
If you do, I may spare your life out of respect for your talent.”
Just as Tu Lu was about to sneer, before he could speak, Zhong Dahai, who had been lurking behind the chief steward, suddenly seemed to snap, roaring in fury.
“No! You promised you would kill him! You devil, you’re a devil who doesn’t keep his word! Ahhh!!!”