After delivering his speech, Zu An even blew the tip of his finger, acting as though he had just fired a bullet.

Everyone’s mouths fell wide open, and for a moment, an awkward silence lingered in the air.

How powerful did the Madam say the intruder was again? Eighth rank?

They had marched here with the resolve to lose at least half of their people, but such a powerful enemy had actually been defeated by the young master with absolute ease.

“What kind of skill is the Six Pulse Divine Sword?”

The guards stared at one another questioningly, seeing their own ignorance mirrored in each other’s eyes. So, they quickly directed their eyes toward their more knowledgeable leader, Yue Shan, instead.

“How am I to know?”

Yue Shan felt his face grow warm. He knew of many cultivation techniques and combat skills, but he had never heard of this ‘Six Pulse Divine Sword’ before.

Even though he had never heard of this skill before, the name itself hinted that it was no ordinary skill. At the very least, it had to be an earth grade skill, and it could even be a heaven grade skill, especially since it had the word ‘divine’ in it.

Just like ki stones and weapons, the combat skills in this world could be divided into mortal grade, earth grade, and heaven grade as well. The Elementary Swordplay of Brightmoon Academy was a mortal grade combat skill.

While mortal grade combat skill might sound weak, just the use of a combat skill alone could mean a huge difference in the prowess of a cultivator. In fact, the only places to obtain combat skills were major clans and the academies, and so the average cultivator who did not have a good family background wouldn’t know of any combat skills at all. Most of them were fully reliant on their instincts and combat experience.

For cultivators of the same rank, those who had combat skills could dominate those without them.

Most of the combat skills that cultivators possessed, if they possessed any at all, were mortal grade combat skills. Usually, only prodigies of the academies and core members of major clans were able to learn earth grade combat skills. As for heaven grade combat skills, these had long since become legend.

While the guards of the Chu clan were trying to figure out what kind of combat skill was the Six Pulse Divine Sword, Qin Wanru was still unable to recover from her shock.

The other guards hadn’t fought with the mysterious black-clothed man—the other two who had were already dead. However, she had experienced the strength of the black-clothed man herself.

Despite being a sixth rank cultivator, she had still been defeated in a single strike, and that was with the other party going easy on her. Clearly, the black-clothed man was far stronger than her.

At the very least, he had to be at the seventh rank, and very possibly at the eighth rank.

And yet, Zu An had killed this powerful expert so easily.

So little time had passed, and on top of that, there had been no sound at all. All of these proved that Zu An held an overwhelming advantage over the black-clothed man whom he defeated.

But how could that be possible?

Zu An was still maintaining his Six Pulse Divine Sword posture. Ordinarily, anyone who saw him in this posture would wonder if he had gone bonkers, but at this very moment, he seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious halo.

Qin Wanru soon snapped out of her daze and took control of the situation. “Hurry up and check that person’s identity!” After she ordered the guards to check on the deceased, she walked over to Zu An’s side. 

“Zu An… are you all right?”

“I told you before, call me Ah Zu instead,” said Zu An as he struggled to his feet. It was honestly quite difficult to maintain the posture he was in, and the slightest wrong movement could cause him to tug painfully on his balls.

“Oof, oof! Help me up! My waist… waist…” 

In order to show off, Zu An had assumed an incredibly difficult posture earlier on, and had ended up straining his muscles.

Qin Wanru shook her head in silence.

She had a whole bunch of questions she wanted to ask, but before she knew it, Zu An had already reverted to his usual self. 

What was I going to ask again? Damn it! This fellow made me forget what was on my mind!

Qin Wanru stared at Zu An quietly for a moment. She finally managed to keep her emotions in check and asked, “Are you injured? How are you feeling at the moment? I saw that man strike you squarely in your chest…”

If the black-clothed man was really an eighth rank cultivator, even her husband, Chu Zhongtian, the number one expert of Brightmoon City, would have at least suffered a severe injury. Knowing this, she was naturally very worried that Zu An was in bad shape.

“Injured? Ah yes, I’m injured!” Zu An yelled in an exaggerated tone, clutching his chest and falling towards her.

When he had fallen halfway, though, he suddenly remembered that it wasn’t his own wife in front of him. Frightened, he quickly arrested his downward trajectory, and scratched his head awkwardly.

“Bring some heaven grade ki stones right away! If there aren’t any heaven grade ki stones, then earth grade ones would do as well. Also, prepare some top-quality medicines and nourishing medicinal herbs too! I need to recuperate from my injuries!”

Qin Wanru shook her head in disbelief.

Hearing Zu An’s ridiculous demands, Qin Wanru belatedly realized that he actually wasn’t injured at all. However, considering the huge contribution he had just made to the Chu clan, she knew that this wasn’t a good time to berate him, so she turned her attention toward Yue Shan instead.

“Have you found out the identity of the intruder yet?”

Yue Shan shook his head and replied, “Not yet. He doesn’t have any identifying objects on him. On top of that, his face…”

He shot a look of fear at Zu An before remarking, “The young master’s Six Pulse Divine Sword is simply too powerful. The intruder’s head exploded. We can’t recognize him at all.”

Zu An suddenly felt incredibly disgusted. Wasn’t Old Mi a little too vicious? It would have been one thing to kill him, but he actually crushed his head as if it was a watermelon!

Zu An quickly wiped his hands on his clothes. In order to show off, he had placed his finger on Shi Lezhi’s head earlier. He realized that there was a sticky sensation on the tips of his finger, and he realized that it might just be blood or brain matter.

That being said, he still enjoyed the looks that the guards were directing at him, which seemed to comprise 10% shock, 20% fright, 30% admiration, and 40% reverence. He felt invigorated by their gazes, as though he had just eaten a whole pile of ginseng.

It feels so good to be strong! Well, even if it’s fake, it’s still something that I managed to fabricate using my own skills!

“Zu…” Qin Wanru had begun to speak when she quickly remembered what Zu An said earlier, and changed her method of address. “Ah Zu, do you know this person’s identity?”  

Zu An hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m not sure. I was exceedingly worried about Chu Chuyan’s injuries and was unable to sleep, so I took a walk. However, this man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked me.”

Zu An didn’t reveal Shi Lezhi’s identity, as he knew that it could complicate things a great deal. Shi Lezhi was a renowned eighth rank cultivator, and if others found out that Shi Lezhi had died at his hands, he would surely garner unwanted attention from the other powers in Brightmoon City.

That would likely cause a great deal of trouble for him, especially since he didn’t have the strength to protect himself from them yet. Besides, it wasn’t his style to stand out in the open. He would rather hide in the shadows and assault his enemies in secret.

I’d rather let Shi Kun remain unnerved about the death of his subordinate.

When Qin Wanru heard that he was worried for her daughter’s safety, she nodded in approval. At least you have a conscience!

However, Zu An’s account only intensified her doubts. “Why did someone suddenly pop out and attempt to take your life?”

Zu An shrugged calmly and replied, “How would I know? Someone as outstanding as me tends to attract gazes of admiration from beautiful women all around me. Some men might have held a grudge against me because of this, and marked me as a target for revenge.”

Qin Wanru almost put her face in her hands.

Yue Shan shook his head as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

Even the guards were feeling rather incredulous.

They suddenly understood that it wasn’t unusual that someone would be out to get him. On the contrary, it would be strange if no one was trying to kill him.

The reactions of the surrounding crowd let Zu An know that they were rather doubtful about his reply. Haa, how ironic. You trust me right away whenever I’m lying, but as soon as I start speaking the truth, you immediately doubt me.

“How do you know he’s an eighth rank cultivator then?” asked Qin Wanru.

“I guessed it. He looks pretty strong,” replied Zu An, blinking innocently.

Qin Wanru nodded in agreement. It would be impossible for an eighth rank cultivator to be killed by him so easily. Therefore, it was more likely that the black-clothed man was at the seventh rank, or even just the pinnacle of the sixth rank.

Regardless of which one it was, however, the black-clothed man still wasn’t someone Zu An should have been able to deal with. So, she asked, “How did you kill him?”

“How? I was just stronger than him,” replied Zu An with a shrug. “Didn’t you see how cool I was in the dueling ring during the Clans Tournament? I’m an expert as well. Isn’t it normal for me to be able to kill another expert?”

Qin Wanru snorted at his response. She assumed that he was simply unwilling to reveal his trump card to them, so she didn’t bother probing any further.

“Speaking of which, where is the woman?” 

She suddenly remembered seeing Zu An holding another woman’s hand and pulling her behind him, and her face immediately darkened.

“Ah, that woman ran off the first opportunity she got,” replied Zu An. Then, he smacked his fist on his palm as though he had just realized something and remarked, “Ah, I was just wondering how weird it was that someone would be after my life. Now that I think of it, that black-clothed man might have been after the woman. Haa, what a pity she ran off so quickly. I didn’t even manage to ask her for her name! The least she could do is betroth herself to me as repayment for saving her life, right?”

Yue Shan stared at Zu An, his eyes filled with admiration. What an incredible man our young master is. To think that he would be dreaming of having another woman betroth herself to him in front of his mother-in-law!

On the other hand, Qin Wanru’s thoughts went in a different direction. I was saved by him earlier too. Could he be trying to tease me?

Hmph! I reckon that he doesn’t have the guts anyway!

Her thoughts left her feeling incredibly awkward, so she quickly turned her attention to the guards and began issuing orders. She instructed the guards to search the area for any other intruders, while assigning more guards to patrol the outer perimeter of the Chu Estate.

Afterward, she summoned the members of the other branches, Yue Shan, Hong Zhong, and other close aides of the Chu clan to discuss this matter.

Soon, the only one left in the courtyard was Zu An. After ensuring that everyone was gone, he carried Qiao Xueying out from the bushes, only to find that her body was searing hot, almost as if she had come right out of a furnace.

Worried that others would notice her, he quickly carried her back into his room.

Fortunately, the guards assigned near his room had been dispatched elsewhere due to the sudden intruder, which made it easier for him to slip Qiao Xueying back into his room without getting caught.

He quickly poured out a cup of cooling tea and fed it to Qiao Xueying, but it didn’t seem to be working. He remembered how wet pieces of cloth would often be placed on the foreheads of feverish patients in his previous world to lower their temperature, so he headed out to fetch some water. However, before he could take a step, he suddenly felt something grabbing his arm. 

He turned his head around, only to see that Qiao Xueying had woken up. Her eyes weren’t as clear as they usually were. Instead, they were glazed over with amorous intent. “Don’t go~”

“I’m just heading out to grab some water to cool you down. Or should I bring you to the lake so that you can have a cold bath? That should help alleviate the effects of the poison, right?” asked Zu An anxiously.

However, Qiao Xueying shook her head and said, “There’s no way the Shi clan’s poison could be cleansed that easily.”

“Ah. Then do you still have the Heartcalming Pill Xiaoxi gave you previously?” asked Zu An.

“I don’t have it.” Qiao Xueying shook her head, her eyes fixed intently on him.

“What do we do then?” Zu An frowned. “Should I carry you over to Xiaoxi’s place now?”

“You dummy, are you feigning ignorance?” Qiao Xueying’s usually sharp voice sounded incredibly sweet and pleasant, as though covered in honey.