Chapter Thirteen: No Longer Mortal

But in that very instant, the sense of impending danger abruptly vanished!

The entire backyard, save for a dozen iron cages and a little girl locked inside one of them, was utterly deserted.

“What’s going on?”

A cold sweat broke out on his back. Instinct told him that the threat was still present, only hidden the moment he had activated the Heavenly Dragon Token’s defense.

Yet, whether it revealed itself or vanished, apart from his intuition, he couldn’t perceive a thing. This left him feeling profoundly unsafe.

Therefore, even though his energy was constantly being drained, he didn’t dare withdraw the Heavenly Dragon Token’s defense right away. He only felt a slight relief after he walked to the center of the backyard and the sense of crisis still didn’t return; emboldened, he finally dispelled the defense.

“Whew…”

Only when he confirmed the danger hadn’t reappeared did he allow himself to relax and turn his attention to the courtyard.

At this moment, the dozen or so iron cages in the backyard looked as though they had survived a massacre—splattered with blood. Only the little girl’s cage was spotless. Though she was shackled with two chains and looked rather forlorn, she bore no visible injuries.

“So it really was her…”

Tu Lu’s gaze fell upon the girl, his brow furrowing. The sight left him with an odd, indefinable feeling.

But if asked to explain it, he couldn’t put it into words.

As for what to do with the girl, that gave him a headache.

The chief steward of the City Lord’s Mansion had met a mishap—someone would inevitably investigate. The people of the slums were ignorant of the truth, so it mattered little, and no one would link him to the Heavenly Dragon Hall’s guest adviser.

But this little girl knew he possessed a large quantity of Thunder Stones. That could easily expose his identity. Releasing her was out of the question, but killing her was equally unthinkable!

He had dealt with the chief steward because the man deserved to die.

But this girl was different. If he hadn’t rashly given her such a large Thunder Stone, she wouldn’t have suffered such misfortune. In the end, it was his responsibility.

After this ordeal, he realized that though he had grown somewhat ruthless, there were lines he still couldn’t cross.

“So be it. For now, I’ll keep her with me. When I leave Divine Wind City, or become strong enough not to fear exposure, I’ll let her go. That’s the only way,” Tu Lu resolved, though he still felt uneasy. But with so many resources within the Heavenly Dragon Token, he believed that day would not be far off.

“It’s only for a short while,” he told himself silently.

Afterward, he returned home, packed his belongings, and with a decisive act, set fire to the courtyard—severing his last attachment to the slums. Only then did he quietly leave with the little girl.

In the end, the two went to the Eastern District. After changing their appearances, they found an inn near the Heavenly Dragon Hall and checked in.

…

“Over four hundred first-grade Thunder Stones, three second-grade Thunder Stones, three basic martial arts manuals, one secret technique, and a complete set of Shadow Guard Formation tactics.”

That evening, in the inn in the eastern part of the city, Tu Lu surveyed the items spread out on the table. After a moment’s thought, he put away the three basic martial arts manuals, then stored the Thunder Stones in the Heavenly Dragon Token, before finally turning his attention to the secret technique and the Shadow Guard Formation tactics.

These were all spoils taken from the chief steward and those thugs, primarily the chief steward, who was exceedingly wealthy. He carried over three hundred Thunder Stones, the Grand Millstone Secret Art, and even the Shadow Guard Eighteen Formations manual with him—this last detail genuinely surprised Tu Lu.

Those basic martial arts were of no use to him. Even the dozen or so manuals he had extorted from the Heavenly Dragon Hall were mostly ordinary—they might be treasures to a martial artist at the Breaking Martial Realm, but to him, they were worthless.

“I’ll sell them all together when the opportunity arises,” he mused with a shake of his head. The Shadow Guard Formation, however, was a true surprise.

At first, he had considered destroying the manual, but after reading it, he realized the formation itself wasn’t insidious. The chief steward had simply chosen the most ruthless shortcut for quick results.

“Still, the requirements for crafting these eighteen Shadow Guards are too high. Whether it’s the art of plant-and-wood clones or artifact forging, the resources needed are staggering. Even with all I extorted from the Heavenly Dragon Hall, I probably can’t afford to create a single body.”

He set aside the formation manual, somewhat resigned. Both methods represented different, upright paths, but each had its drawbacks—most importantly, the bar was set too high!

Especially the plant-and-wood clone method—he didn’t even dare consider it.

“This secret technique, though, is very useful…”

His gaze shifted to a page of the secret technique in his hand. Unfortunately, the technique was incomplete; using it inflicted severe damage. As with the chief steward, who had lost over half his vital essence in an instant, it could only serve as a last resort.

Having inventoried his spoils, he stored everything in the Heavenly Dragon Token.

At this point, with the resources extorted from the Heavenly Dragon Hall, his wealth was considerable: eleven lower-tier magical artifacts, two mid-tier magical artifacts; twelve basic martial arts and cultivation manuals, one introductory inscription manual;

Four hundred and thirty-seven first-grade Thunder Stones, eighteen second-grade Thunder Stones, twenty-two third-grade Thunder Stones, and nine fourth-grade Thunder Stones;

Additionally, he had over three hundred Marrow Cleansing Pills and one Heavenly Dragon Token.

But the low-tier artifacts and manuals all needed to be sold off. That was one reason he’d come near the Heavenly Dragon Hall. The other was to gather information about Mystic Spirit Island.

After all, in Divine Wind City, only the City Lord’s Mansion and the Heavenly Dragon Hall possessed such intelligence.

“It’s a pity I can’t use my guest adviser identity for now,” he thought with some regret. If he could, things would be much simpler.

“I hope I can find news of my sister tomorrow.”

With this silent wish, he swallowed a few Marrow Cleansing Pills and closed his eyes to rest.

Marrow Cleansing Pills were meant for use at the Breaking Martial Realm, and had little effect on cultivators.

But for him, since he had yet to undergo the marrow cleansing stage, the pills were subtly transforming his physique without any effort on his part.

As a result, though his realm remained unchanged, his strength was advancing by leaps and bounds.

As for the girl, she had followed him ever since he brought her along, acting just as she had the first time they met—silent except for the occasional nod or shake of the head. Even as Tu Lu took stock of his astonishing wealth, she remained unmoved.

No matter what he asked, she gave no response. Anyone watching might think she was mute.

To this day, Tu Lu didn’t even know her name. He felt helpless, but after getting used to it, as long as she stayed within his line of sight, he treated her as if she weren’t there.

“The most urgent task is to uncover information about Mystic Spirit Island. Next to that, I must strengthen my cultivation!”

After his ordeal in the slums, he fully realized that he was no longer an ordinary person. The slums were now part of his past; ahead of him lay the world of cultivators, where only the strong survive. To keep living, he had to grow stronger!

…

The next morning, he took the little girl with him to the Heavenly Dragon Hall.

At this point, his appearance had changed dramatically. Standing beside the girl, he looked like nothing more than a middle-aged man with his daughter—only, the aura he exuded was that of a Mountain-Moving Realm master.