Chu Li shook his head, giving her a sidelong glance and a fist salute before leaving.

　　Once Chu Li was out of sight, Leng Ying asked, “Elder cousin sister, you were trying to give him some advice. Why did he look so upset?”

　　Lu Yurong pouted, a slight smile on her lips. “Will you be happy if one of your favorite dresses got stolen by someone and you can’t take it back?”

　　“Of course not.” Leng Ying shook her head.

　　Lu Yurong laughed. “The Golden Lohan’s Power is his beloved dress!”

　　“Why can’t he take it back?” Leng Ying asked.

　　Lu Yurong said, “It’s a long story. Let go! I’ll tell you as we walk!”

　　A smile tugged on the corners of Lu Yurong’s mouth. She was able to tease Chu Li for a bit right before he left and that had strangely left her in a good mood.

　　Chu Li had his hands behind back as he walked slowly away. His white robe was fluttering in the air, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

　　What Lu Yurong said was true—the Golden Lohan’s Power was very suitable for him to cultivate.

　　The reason why his cultivation of the Sentient Menace was improving at an astounding rate was that he had the Life and Death Scripture, the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait, and also the Heavenly Demonic Power as of late.

　　Reaching another level of the Life and Death Scripture was difficult.

　　The progression of the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait was also extremely slow.

　　He had seen a raging tiger in his previous life. The difference between a raging tiger and a spirit tiger were similar to the difference between someone without any training and an Enlightened Master. His knowledge from his previous life had been exhausted. Thus, it was hard for him to advance on the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait now.

　　In order to make any progress, he would have to go and find a spirit tiger on the Hundred-Thousand Hills.

　　However, a spirit tiger is not the same as a spirit crane. His life would be in grave danger if he were to meet a spirit tiger. That was why he had stopped cultivating the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait for now—he would not be making any progress no matter how he self-cultivate.

　　Luckily, he still had the Heavenly Demonic Power.

　　As the Heavenly Demonic Power reached the third level, the Sentient Menace had advanced to another level which was the backbone level as well.

　　Once the cultivation had reached the backbone level, he could feel the changes in his body and how much his body strength had improved.

　　He had almost reached the peak of the cultivation of the Sentient Menace with only three more levels left. The only issue was that he could not figure out the trick to unlock the rest of the levels. The Tempest Temple must know some special secret techniques, something even Fa Yuan had no idea about, that would be able to help him.

　　The Sentient Menace was not merely a technique for protecting oneself.

　　The first three levels of training focused on the skin, the body, and the muscle. The body would become so strong that even bullets and knives would not be able to penetrate it. Any attacks from an acquired master would leave the body unharmed too.

　　Then came the meridian training which would improve the body’s inner energy to its most powerful point until the body was able to withstand the attacks from an innate master.

　　The training of bones and backbones was not to enhance one’s inner energy but to improve the durability of one’s inner strength.

　　The founder of the Sentient Menace was a genius. He knew that even the most powerful body and inner energy were only enough to deflect the attacks but could not defeat the opponent thoroughly. Training for a body that could endure a countless stream of attacks was the ultimate point here.

　　A punch that would normally land people with a serious injury would only inflict minimal harm on someone with the Sentient Menace. While the rest suffered a light injury, the one who had cultivated the Sentient Menace would be unharmed. If someone was to be killed by the punch, the one who had cultivated the Sentient Menace would suffer serious injuries.

　　This was the pride of the Sentient Menace.

　　After he had cultivated the Golden Lohan’s Power, he had a feeling that it was a technique that was on a higher level than the Sentient Menace. The energy emitted from the cultivation had made the Heavenly Demonic Power swallowed it eagerly and craved for more impatiently.

　　This just might be the path to attain the Sentient Menace.

　　As he was approaching the Imperial Residence of King An, he suddenly halted in his steps.

　　In his mind, he saw two middle-aged men entering the main gates of the residence. Their auras were dark and reeked of hostility.

　　He vanished in a flash and appeared in the Tianshu Courtyard.

　　Xiao Shi, who was wearing a white dress, was taking a walk around the courtyard. Her movements were light and graceful.

　　She saw him appearing out of nowhere and spared him a quick glance but did not stop her walk. “Have you met Lu Yurong?”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　Xiao Shi asked, “Feeling good about it?”

　　Chu Li coughed dryly. “King Jing was the one who asked for me. He had relayed to me a piece of news.”

　　“What news?” Xiao Shi asked.

　　Right at this moment, Chief Zhu voice could be heard outside. “Princess, the two men from the imperial house have arrived.”

　　“Chief Zhu!” Chu Li called, his voice low.

　　“Yes, Head Chief!” Chief Zhu responded at once.

　　Chu Li asked, “Did they ask where I am?”

　　Chief Zhu said politely, “Yes, they did.”

　　“What did you tell them?”

　　“I told them you’re still out and haven’t come back.”

　　“Alright then, bring them some tea. After that, bring them over to see the princess.”

　　“Yes,” Chief Zhu said. The sound of his footsteps faded away.

　　Xiao Shi looked at Chu Li.

　　Chu Li explained the news he received from King Jing.

　　Xiao Shi scoffed, “Those guys are asking for your help? The secret guardians of the imperial house, hmph!”

　　She had a bad impression of the secret guardians. No one in the High Duke’s Public Houses actually liked them. The secret guardians had always been investigating the High Duke’s Public Houses secretly and had caused some trouble for the Public Houses in the past.

　　Chu Li said, “Tell them I’m practicing Isolated Cultivation.”

　　“Alright then, let me take care of them!” Xiao Shi said.

　　—

　　Sun Yide and Zhao Jianghe were sitting on the armchairs and drinking tea in the main hall of the Imperial Residence of King An.

　　Although the smell of tea permeated the hall, the two men were not in the mood to enjoy it. Both of them had a solemn expression on their faces and remained silent. The main hall was so quiet that it was possible for one to hear the sound of a needle dropping.

　　They were both secret guardians of the imperial house. Wherever they go they would be greeted with smiles and a certain level of cautiousness. Everyone was afraid of offending them, getting accused, and then get thrown into jail.

　　The secret guardians had the right to capture someone before they report that person to the authorities. They could not kill right away, but they could catch anyone without questions.

　　They did not even bother to care about these imperial residences. The only person they valued was the Emperor. As long as these princes remained princes, then there would be no reservations whatsoever—they could catch and take whoever and whatever they needed to.

　　This was the first time they were treated with such coldness. They were literally ignored!

　　“Well, she’s a princess from the High Duke’s Public House!” Zhao Jianghe said.

　　“The High Duke’s Public House!” Sun Yide exclaimed.

　　Both of their physiques were large and muscular like two steel towers. They both had narrow faces, but Zhao Jianghe had huge reserved eyes while Sun Yide had small bright eyes.

　　Zhao Jianghe said, “Little Sun, don’t try anything funny!”

　　“I wouldn’t dare to!” Sun Yide chortled. “She’s a lady from the High Duke’s Public Houses and also the princess consort of the Imperial Residence of King An. I wouldn’t dare to be presumptuous!”

　　Zhao Jianghe frowned at him.

　　The more Sun Yide said things like this, the more afraid he was that he already had something crazy to do in mind.

　　Just like what Sun Yide said, this Second Lady Xiao was not someone they could afford to offend.

　　Sun Yide’s younger brother was killed by someone from the High Duke’s Public Houses, though. They did not manage to find the killer, and the investigation was left unsolved. The Emperor valued the High Duke’s Public Houses and was afraid of pushing the houses too hard. The secret guardians naturally did not have the guts to do anything.

　　Sun Yide had never let it go. It became something that was always in his mind.

　　Sun Yide giggled. “Relax, I won’t cause any trouble!”

　　“I never should have brought you along!” Zhao Jianghe said.

　　Sun Yide’s smiled wickedly. “I’ve always wanted to meet this Second Lady Xiao!”

　　“She sees us as her enemies.” Zhao Jianghe shook his head. “Seems to me this won’t be an easy mission. Don’t forget what we’re here for!”

　　“We’re here to invite Chu Li to come back with us!” Sun Yide smiled and said innocently, “I thought we’re just coming here and look around. Are we really bringing him back with us?”

　　“We have to,” Zhao Jianghe said. “He has mastered powerful techniques. Once we had learned them from him, then we can torture him!”

　　“I want to kill him personally!” Sun Yide twisted his neck and smiled wickedly. He seemed to be enjoying the thought of killing him. The thought seemed to excite him and make him hate Chu Li more at the same time.

　　Zhao Jianghe said calmly, “He’s not that easy to kill!”