Geng Huarong had an ugly-looking face but was quite a good talker. He laughed. “Junior Brother Chu, from an exchange of blows, friendship grows; I can’t believe we are actually from the same family!”

　　Chu Li nodded. “You never know what life has in store for you, I apologize for have greatly offended my fellow Senior Brothers.”

　　Geng Huarong waved his hands. “We were enemies then, of course, you’d to be merciless.”

　　“Same to you.” Chu Li smiled.

　　He came in front of the carriage and opened the wagon to reveal ten Asuras inside, their injuries largely recovered.

　　Chu Li said, “Their acupuncture points have to be resealed every two hours.”

　　Geng Huarong chuckled. “I get it. We’ve been given strict orders over and over again to make sure that we deliver them back to in good shape, ah… They’re probably more precious than we are!”

　　“Since our sect wants to level up, I guess they could be considered as a key in achieving that. We’ll just have to see if this opportunity works out.” Chu Li grinned.

　　“Ahh…” Geng Huarong shook his head. “If it was up to me, I won’t even bother with these Asuras, we should just cultivate our own martial arts well. We haven’t even perfected our own martial art, why should we concern ourselves with these dishonest practices?”

　　Chu Li chortled. “With the current circumstances, the sect must resort to such means… Oh right, I have a letter here, I would have to trouble Senior Brother Geng to pass it to Master.”

　　Geng Huarong promised with a guffaw. “No problem, I guarantee to deliver it to him! You know, we never expected you to join the Nature Manifestation Peak, we thought you would enter Phantom Yin Peak instead!”

　　Chu Li was the best candidate to cultivate the Phantom Yin Skill because he could see past it. However, he did not cultivate Phantom Yin Skill and had chosen Manifestation of Nature Restoration instead, it was truly a reckless waste of his God-given talents.

　　He simply stated, “Manifestation of Nature Restoration is more intriguing while there are limits to Phantom Yin Skill’s formidable power.”

　　Geng Huarong shot a glance at his three comrades and shook his head helplessly.

　　“Please do hurry on your way back, Senior Brothers and beware of the Holy Church of Light coming after you!” Chu Li warned.

　　“Of course, of course!” Geng Huarong quickly nodded.

　　They all saw how Chu Li had fought against the four Grandmasters just now.

　　Although the four Grandmasters seemed to be completely powerless before Chu Li, their cultivation level was actually equal to that of Chu Li. It was just that Chu Li’s body movement technique was bizarre in addition to having superior abilities to scheme against others that he was able to constantly gain the upper hand.

　　On the flip side, if it was Geng Huarong and his comrades who had faced the four Grandmasters, the only thing they could do was to flee.

　　…

　　Qing Yun Town.

　　A bright moon hung high above the sky as its moonlight showered generously upon the courtyard where Chu Li and Xiao Shi sat across each other at a stone table.

　　Meanwhile, Yang Xu and Ru Menglan were in another courtyard cleaning up Chu Li’s room on his behalf.

　　“What’s going on today?” Xiao Shi placed a black stone ¹ down as she drawled out lazily. “You actually have the mood to play chess with me.”

　　Chu Li gave her a faint smile. “The principle of kings Wen and Wu in governing their country was to work with rest, I’ve been too busy and irritable lately, it’s about time I take some time to clear my mind.”

　　He had killed enough Asuras for now. With the advancement of his Nature Manifestation Restoration’s level and the current strength of his All-Knowing Scripture, there was no hurry to cultivate and kill.

　　Xiao Shi took a glance at him and shook her head. “You’re feeling anxious, aren’t you?”

　　Chu Li’s heart skipped a beat, he did not expect Xiao Shi to know him so well and to see right through him.

　　Xiao Shi tilted her head and studied Chu Li with her sharp, assessing eyes. “Mmm, there aren’t many things in the world that can make you anxious, so is it the thing with Youngest Sister?”

　　Chu Li fell silent as he lowered his head.

　　Xiao Shi asked, “Have your Manifestation of Nature Restoration reached a sufficient level of attainment?”

　　“I want to give it a try,” Chu Li muttered.

　　Xiao Shi smirked. “Then try, what’s there to be nervous about!”

　　Chu Li let out a shaky sigh and shook his head.

　　Xiao Shi encouraged him. “If it doesn’t work, then keep on cultivating. With your aptitude, is there any martial art that you can’t successfully cultivate?”

　　Chu Li sighed again. “I’m just afraid that my Manifestation of Nature Restoration isn’t advancing as quick as Lady Xiao’s.”

　　“Now that’s a problem.” Xiao Shi nodded as she muttered to herself, “How about we figure out some ways to distract her and keep her from cultivating for a while?”

　　“That sounds good.” Chu Li grinned.

　　Xiao Shi thought for a while then nodded. “You know what, there’s no need for you to do anything, I’ll do something! …I’ll write a letter to Youngest Sister and ask her to come here to be my protector, saying that the Holy Church of Light is on a rampage lately and that I might get assassinated so she must protect me for some time!”

　　“Good idea!” Chu Li exclaimed.

　　Xiao Shi went on. “And once she arrives at the Imperial Residence, I’ll keep pestering her and keep her from cultivating.”

　　“Thank you so much, Lady Xiao!” Chu Li smiled and did a fist salute.

　　Xiao Shi cast a sidelong glance at him. “You’re normally this confident man that carries himself with an unrivaled air of authority, why do you transform into a fool when it comes to Youngest Sister? She’s just an ordinary woman, there’s nothing to be anxious about!”

　　Chu Li burst into laughter and nodded agreeably. “What you say is true, Lady Xiao!”

　　Xiao Shi rolled her eyes at him. “What an eyesore! Even I’m worried for you, if it was me, I wouldn’t have let her cultivate whatever that Regal Sword Scripture was, then none of these things would have happened.”

　　Chu Li murmured. “I can’t be selfish and not care about what she wants.”

　　Xiao Shi scoffed. “Hmph, you care too much about what she wants! You keep giving in to her and look where it got you?”

　　Chu Li readily agreed. “You are absolutely right, milady, it’s your turn to act now!”

　　“If you had only showed her a tenth of the abilities you’ve shown me, Youngest Sister’s inner state would’ve been broken a long time ago!” Xiao Shi huffed and put down another black stone.

　　Chu Li only smiled.

　　Xiao Shi thought that he was a blubbering mess in front of the Third Lady but she was wrong, he was as assertive before the Third Lady as he was with her, it was just that he was not forceful or demanding enough on the matter of her cultivating the Regal Sword Scripture.

　　Perhaps it was due to his memories from his past life but his attitude towards women was different from the men in this world, he treated women as equals and with more respect.

　　“I’m craving Spirit Cranes Peak’s spirit fruit a little.” Xiao Shi sighed. “It’s been a long time since I was there.”

　　Chu Li snickered. “It’s only been a few days.”

　　He had been busy with Ji Public House’s big battle and killing Asuras during the past few days that he had not been able to bring Xiao Shi to Spirit Cranes Peak for some fun.

　　“And that’s not long enough?” Xiao Shi shot back.

　　Chu Li tried negotiating. “I’ll go get some fruits and then we can go there tomorrow, it’s dangerous to head out at night.”

　　“Then forget about it, we’ll just go tomorrow.” Xiao Shi brushed it off.

　　However, Chu Li disappeared in a flash and reappeared a moment later with a pale-yellow fruit that was as big as a few apples, its aroma was incredibly tempting.

　　Xiao Shi rolled her eyes at him then took the fruit.

　　“I will be leaving for the Li Dynasty some time later,” Chu Li uttered.

　　Xiao Shi put down the fruit from her mouth and frowned. “What is it this time?”

　　“I’m going to find out the truth about the Holy Church of Light.”

　　“Do you have a death wish?”

　　“I’ll start from the outer ring and move in slowly after that, I’ll see which level I can reach.”

　　“So you’re going to become an insider?”

　　“Yes.” Chu Li confirmed.

　　“You’re a centurion, a Rank-One Scribe, and a Head Chief, for goodness sake! Are you seriously going to be an insider in the Li Dynasty? Are you crazy?” Xiao Shi scolded.

　　Chu Li sighed. “Actually, this isn’t just for the Great Ji Dynasty and others, it’s more for my own interests.”

　　Xiao Shi guessed. “Are you annoyed at their unending assassination attempts?”

　　Chu Li nodded. “If I don’t solve the root of this problem, then they’ll keep coming and you won’t be able to live in peace either.”

　　Xiao Shi huffed. “I’ve already gotten used to it. Getting assassinated is pretty fun.”

　　Chu Li laughed.

　　Xiao Shi inquired, “How do you plan to stop them for good?”

　　“By finding their weakness,” Chu Li answered.

　　Xiao Shi was surprised. “So you plan to dissolve the Holy Church of Light?”

　　“I must try to do it somehow,” Chu Li admitted.

　　“What a wild thought!” Xiao Shi gasped. “…But I like it, so go ahead and do it!”

　　Chu Li was shocked, he did not expect her to say such words.

　　Xiao Shi then warned him. “It’s not easy to disband the Holy Church of Light, because if it were that simple, they would’ve scattered a long time ago. It’s been established as long as Tempest Temple has been around, God only knows how many martial art masters they have in their church.”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　Xiao Shi continued. “I may not be able to help in terms of martial arts, but I can help you brainstorm ideas.”

　　“Alright, I’ll have to count on you then, Lady Xiao.”

　　Xiao Shi changed the topic. “What about King An? Are you not planning to kill him anymore?”

　　“It’s not time yet.” Chu Li shook his head.

　　“I just hope that he’ll succumb to his internal demons and die!” Xiao Shi harrumphed.

　　Chu Li’s entertained the idea for a while but eventually shook his head, he would not dare to simply make a move with the Emperor’s permission.