30
When he saw how Xu ZiYan chose a Wood Element Supporting Arts book, Old Luo’s expression looked somewhat amazed. He didn’t expect that Xu ZiYan would actually dote on Xu ZiRong to this degree. For Xu ZiYan to even give Xu ZiRong this opportunity that he had received with much difficulty.
However, Old Luo’s expression quickly returned to normal. The only reason he stayed here was for the sole purpose of guarding Xu family’s foundation. As for these affairs among the younger generation, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
The gaze Xu Mo used to look at Xu ZiYan was extremely strange. He couldn’t understand, no matter how much he thought about it. Where exactly did that formally arrogant and despotic Young Master go? Although the previous Xu ZiYan did not reach the degree where he had no concern for others, for him to be this generous and for him to give out that kind of opportunity …… it was really quite unfathomable. Thus, Xu Mo could only use his hair-rising gaze to stare at Xu ZiYan and Xu ZiRong’s fingertips, switching his line-of-sight back and forth.
On the other hand, Xu ZiRong was rather calm. This was because he thought Xu ZiYan must have chosen that jade book, the one that emitted berserk rays of thunder and lightning power.
Only……
Xu ZiRong’s gaze became slightly dark. To be capable of concealing this from Old Luo’s inspection, it seemed that his own ‘big brother’ had a lot more secrets he had not yet discovered.
Completely unaware of how he had exposed something about himself in front of Xu ZiRong, Xu ZiYan very happily gave Xu ZiRong a meaningful glance. Afterwards, the two of them returned to the Liu Shang Courtyard.
With how they were currently living together, combined with how Xu ZiRong had been the one to inform him about this jade book’s existence in the first place, Xu ZiYan didn’t think much about it at all. It was only until after he had brought Xu ZiRong back to their room when he realized——how was he supposed to take this thing out ah?
He couldn’t just make a jade book appear out of thin air right in front of Xu ZiRong, now could he?
“Big brother, what’s wrong?” Xu ZiRong pretended to be puzzled as he asked the older boy.
It only took Xu ZiRong one look at Xu ZiYan’s expression for him to deduce that the other must be feeling troubled over how he was supposed to take that jade book out. A trick that was able to keep a Golden Core Elder in the dark, you didn’t even need to think to know that Xu ZiYan didn’t want to expose it in front of himself.
However, Xu ZiRong didn’t intend to let Xu ZiYan off. He was not fond of how there was something he couldn’t control on Xu ZiYan’s body, especially in the current situation where he was extremely satisfied with this ‘big brother’. Nothing unexpected was permitted!
Xu ZiRong pretended to look innocent as he steadily stared at the other boy. In addition, his pair of pitch-black eyes glistened in a shiny manner, making the Xu ZiYan who was looking at him feel embarrassed to keep concealing it from the younger.
Xu ZiYan thought for a moment before he coughed twice. “ZiRong, ah, have you seen someone do magic tricks before?”
Xu ZiRong: ……
Xu ZiYan continued to use that sort of ‘really hoping he’ll say no’ gaze to stare at him. Thus, Xu ZiRong could only hem and haw as he mumbled, “I didn’t.”
“That’s great! Big brother can show you one, is that alright? First, close your eyes,” Xu ZiYan was really satisfied with his own little brother’s previous words. Having an obedient child was really too great! ZiRong was really much more lovable compared to that rascal ZiYu!
Xu ZiRong: …..
Although his reasoning had been terribly childish, when Xu ZiYan looked at him with that kind of face, Xu ZiRong felt as if he was powerless to refute.
What magic trick……to bring up this sort of small joke to someone who had previously neared Mahayana stage cultivation, are you really not deliberating trying to humiliate him??
(Something was written on the little mental notebook once again.)
Xu ZiRong silently raised his hand to cover his eyes. They were dark but had a hint of stealthiness, and soon they began to glisten and shine in between his fingers.
Xu ZiYan: ……
A rascal like this surely isn’t my darling little brother!!! _(:з」∠)_
Silently swallowing a mouthful of old blood, Xu ZiYan stiffened his face before he placed both of his hands onto Xu ZiRong’s shoulders……and then he slowly and firmly turned the other boy around.
Xu ZiRong: ……Big brother, is it really alright for you to deceive yourself like this??!!!
Toward Xu ZiYan’s shameless action, Xu ZiRong actually found it to be quite novel. He never expected that this seemingly steady and mature older brother would actually be this shameless to him, an eight year old child……
“It’s done,” By the time Xu ZiRong turned around, Xu ZiYan had already taken that jade book out. To be honest, taking that jade book out was a simple and quick affair. It was just that having something suddenly appear out of thin air was kind of frightening.
In reality, Xu ZiYan was completely capable of using a random magical artefact or tool in order to make a more convincing lie. After all, Xu ZiRong was merely a child who had just begun cultivating and thus wouldn’t be able to understand much. However, Xu ZiYan didn’t wish to deceive his own younger brother, especially someone like Xu ZiRong, who was especially sensitive.
Regarding Xu ZiRong’s personality, perhaps the other wouldn’t know he was lying right now. However, if he became aware of it in the future, this would for sure become a scar on his heart.
Thus, Xu ZiYan would rather use a shameless method than tell Xu ZiRong a lie. In this way, even if Xu ZiRong realized something in the future, at most he would just feel some helplessness.
He shared the information stored in this jade book that he had previously found out with Xu ZiRong. Xu ZiYan didn’t count on having an eight year old child being capable of analyzing this information, he simply wanted to share this matter with the other boy.
Although he lived in Xu family, there wasn’t anyone in the whole family who was his good friend. The kids who used to revolve by Xu ZiYan’s side to flatter him had all been alienated by him in the past month, and the ones left over were just some children in their teens. As an old man, wanting to find someone to talk to was really as difficult as a mountain was big.
Xu ZiYan also didn’t ask Xu ZiRong to give him advice. He merely wanted to find someone who he could tell a few secrets to, and Xu ZiRong indeed lived up to his expectations. Although he was only eight years old, Xu ZiRong acted quite mature the majority of the time. Furthermore, his personality was quite lovable and clever. He was easily able to satisfy Xu ZiYan’s ‘good older brother’ mentality as a little brother, and thus was practically the best choice for Xu ZiYan’s listener.
After he took out that jade book, Xu ZiYan planned to start cultivating. This Nine Changes of Violet Heaven was exceptionally marvelous. He had only peeked into it a bit in the library, but even that was enough for him to sense its power. It was just, examining it in the library had been far too inconvenient. However, now that he was unhindered, Xu ZiYan was obviously going to try it out.
The two brothers stood very close together, with their shoulders practically sticking side by side. Xu ZiYan’s soul had just entered the book when he heard the Xu ZiRong beside him let out a cry.
“What’s wrong?” Xu ZiYan opened his eyes and became immediately gobsmacked. The clothing on Xu ZiRong’s left shoulder had already became ashes, exposing fair and white skin.
Xu ZiRong was also bewildered. Just then, Xu ZiYan obviously didn’t do anything. However, that jade book suddenly shot out a ray of lightning. If it wasn’t how he had reacted quickly, it wouldn’t have only been his clothes that had been damaged. No, Xu ZiRong was afraid that even half his arm would have been wounded.
After he told Xu ZiYan what had just happened, the other boy suddenly began to look anxious and miserable. He knew that lightning attributed martial arts were usually overbearing and strong, but he had never heard of some kind of secret technique where there couldn’t even be spectators whilst he was cultivating.
“It doesn’t matter big brother, it’ll be fine if I just leave,” Xu ZiRong very considerately said.
Without a better idea, Xu ZiYan could only agree. However, he did not know that this was exactly Xu ZiRong’s desire. Originally, he had still been distressed about how he couldn’t avoid Xu ZiYan to cultivate, but he never expected that the opportunity would bump into him itself. Xu ZiRong could pretend to be generous and give Xu ZiYan enough space, conveniently exchanging his willingness for some of Xu ZiYan’s guilt. In addition, he could now seize this opportunity and go to the mountain rear to properly temper himself.
Normally, Xu ZiYan protected him too tightly. Besides the time they used to sleep, Xu ZiRong practically had no other time to practice the Blood Sea Heart Sutra. But now, things would change. Xu ZiRong was now able to openly go into the forest to hunt.
Leaving a message for Xu ZiYan, Xu ZiRong cheerfully left in the direction of the mountain rear. The place he selected was a mountain range that sat on the periphery of the forest. The demon beasts inside were mostly at the first or second layer of Qi Condensation Stage, and the ones with the highest cultivation were no more than the third layer of Qi Condensation Stage. It was perfect for his ‘second layer of Qi Condensation Stage’ cultivation level.
Actually, this destination wasn’t something he could have changed. Unless he was with Xu ZiYan, he wouldn’t have any other opportunities to enter the deeper part of the forest. Though he had wanted to use the essence blood of stronger demon beasts to cultivate, Xu ZiRong was currently pretending to have cultivation at the second level of Qi Condensation Stage. If he accidentally showed too much strength, then that would be bad.
Thus, Xu ZiRong intended to use quantity to win. For the low-level demon beasts on that mountain range, it was as if they had unluckily met misfortune. The whole mountain was basically swept clean by Xu ZiRong, as though a blizzard had passed through and turned the place barren……
The essence blood of low-level demon beasts wasn’t capable of helping Xu ZiRong much, so he had to refine it before using it. Although originally, the blood he had collected from all the beasts he had killed on the mountain amounted to the size of a fist, after Xu ZiRong refined it, all that was left was a single drop.
As he stared at the droplet of blood spinning on his fingertips, Xu ZiRong frowned slightly. The number of times he could slaughter low-level beasts without restraint like he had just done previously couldn’t happen too many times, otherwise it would be easy for Xu family to notice something amiss.
Just, this efficiency……
His eyebrows scrunching up more and more, Xu ZiRong could only sigh helplessly. His plan of using essence blood to quickly restore his cultivation was impossible now. Unless he was capable of attacking a Golden Core cultivator in a short period of time, it was still better to stay low-key.
In reality, with his current strength, it was completely possible for him to break away from Xu family and cultivate by himself. When he was strong enough, he could return at that time to exterminate the Xu family. However, for once, he was actually hesitating, because he hated the thought of parting with Xu ZiYan, that big brother of his.
Xu ZiRong felt that these days with his friendly elder brother and him, a respectful younger brother, were very good and satisfactory. Although Xu family’s other people were still irksome, for the sake of his big brother’s face, Xu ZiRong could tolerate the existence of those people.
Letting out a slightly annoyed sigh, Xu ZiRong casually grabbed a passing demon beast and crushed it into a blood splatter. Only then did the irritability in his heart decrease a bit.
Forget it. It was but a few years time, he could still afford to wait. Three years later, his big brother would enter the Liu Guang Sect. In his last life, Xu ZiRong had escaped Xu family before Xu ZiYan left, but in this life, he didn’t intend to part with his big brother.
This was also good. If his power increased too much, Xu ZiRong was afraid that he wouldn’t get the chance to enter Liu Guang Sect with his older brother. Until Xu ZiRong had the ability to suppress all those who hindered him from staying with his brother, he could only silently endure.
Fortunately, although Xu ZiRong lacked almost everything in his last life, the only thing he wasn’t lacking was his patience. His big brother was the only person he had met in both lives who made him feel warmth. For this person, Xu ZiRong was willing to make some concessions.
Of course, his big brother also had to pay a price.
As for the details of that price? In the future, they could slowly discuss that……
After he refined that drop of essence blood into his body, Xu ZiRong returned to the Liu Shang Courtyard. Since he had already decided to slow down his cultivation speed, then it was better for him to focus more on his Wood Element Supporting Arts techniques. With Blood Sea Heart Sutra as his foundation, his cultivation speed wouldn’t be much slower than Xu ZiYan’s. If Xu ZiRong wanted to cover up the fact of how he was practicing Blood Sea Heart Sutra, then he required another type of martial arts to conceal it.
Before, he had only casually picked the Wood Element Supporting Arts. However, now that he thought about it, the Wood Element Supporting Arts were really his best choice.
When he returned to Liu Shang Courtyard, Xu ZiYan was still cultivating. Because he had previously made an order, no one dared to go near his bedroom. When Xu ZiRong saw this, of course he wouldn’t go to deliberately look for some abuse. Instead, he simply went to the martial arts training field in their backyard and found a corner to begin practicing the technique he had just received: ‘Tempering Wood Secrets’.
At the same time, within Xu ZiYan’s bedroom, thin strands of purple lightning would flood the entire room every now and then. Xu ZiYan wasn’t harmed despite standing in the middle of that thunder storm. However, he would sometimes reveal a pained expression on his face.
Because of different reasons, the two of them had devoted all of their energy into cultivating. Perhaps the people themselves didn’t realize, but their firm drive moved the wind of the entire Xu family……
The author has something to say: In the the two of them will grow up!!! ……A little bit. →.→
