Xue Ling looked at the long sword in her hand. “This sword…”

　　She took the sword to the boiler room, then threw it at a stump that was the size of a plate. With a ‘chi’ sound, it was cut into two by the sword.

　　Xue Ling looked at the stump, and then back at the sword. To withstand the sharpness of a long sword like that showed just how remarkable the Sentient Menace technique is!

　　Chu Li looked at her with a wide smile.

　　“Master, with this, aren’t you invincible now?” Xue Ling followed up. “No weapons can harm you, so what are you afraid of?”

　　Chu Li kept that smile of his as he said, “I don’t believe that there is a technique that can make someone invincible. If it was a mighty sword, I may not be able to withstand the damage. Similarly, if an Innate Master was to attack me, I won’t be able to escape unharmed.”

　　“How about we try using a mighty sword?”

　　“And where can we get one?”

　　“I’ll go see the Chief!” Xue Ling immediately darted out of the residence.

　　Su Ru then followed her into the small courtyard, with an emerald-green sword hanging on her slender waist. It looked so much bigger that it made people worried her waist would not be able to withhold the weight of that sword.

　　Chu Li gave her a fist salute and smiled. “To bring back the sword alone would be enough, why bring the Chief with you?”

　　“Why? Can I not come?” Su Ru slowly walked to him and watched him intently. “You’ve mastered the second stage?”

　　Chu Li smiled as he said, “The Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait was really useful!”

　　“Take this!” Su Ru suddenly shouted, while the sword that was thrust towards Chu Li’s shoulder emitted a flash.

　　However, Chu Li did not move away to avoid the strike. The tip of the sword met with his shoulder, but it did not pierce through his skin. Instead, the spot where he was hit was only dented slightly, for about half an inch deep.

　　“Interesting!” Su Ru withdrew the sword and sheathed it. She glanced at his shoulder. “You can even absorb the impact!”

　　“After I’ve mastered the second stage, it made it flexible.”

　　“But that doesn’t mean that you should cultivate all day and all night, can you?” Su Ru asked with a warm smile. Then, the sword on her waist let out another flash as it struck Chu Li’s shoulder.

　　Again, although Chu Li did not evade it, the tip of the sword still could not pierce through his skin.

　　“Hey, I know you saw it coming, but was that the effects of the Sentient Menace technique or your reflex skills?” Su Ru asked curiously.

　　Chu Li grinned. “It’s automatic, just like instinct.”

　　He had the Life and Death Scripture within his possession, and had absorbed the inner energy within a hundred meters’ range. With both the Eternity Blade and that stored energy, killing him would not be an easy task, even for someone from the Tempest Temple.

　　“That was truly remarkable. It’s unlike any other cultivation techniques,” Su Ru exclaimed in awe.

　　“It’s the secret technique that the Tempest Temple takes pride in, so of course it’s unique.”

　　“But you’ve only mastered the second stage, there’s still a long way left to go!” Su Ru fixed her eyes on him to deflate his ego, in case he thought too highly of himself.

　　As far as she knew, most of the followers of the Tempest Temple had only mastered the first stage. In fact, there were only a few who mastered the second stage, and even fewer at the third stage. After all, the first stage alone was useful enough.

　　Chu Li giggled.

　　To master the first stage of the Sentient Menace technique, it had already consumed a lot of inner energy. For the second stage, an even greater amount of inner energy was needed. He reckoned that the mastery of the third stage would require multiple folds of inner energy used in the previous two stages.

　　With such increasing multiplications, he dared not think of amount required for the last few stages. Who would have the capability to cultivate until those stages?

　　However, it made total sense when he thought of it. To achieve enlightenment and transcend into a Buddha, one would require tens of thousands of years of cultivation. If it was that easy, anyone could become a saint.

　　Chu Li sat down at the gazebo. “Chief, have you settled the matters with regards to Gu Litong?”

　　Su Ru sat down opposite him and sighed.

　　Meanwhile, Xue Ling poured them two cups of tea. As the green tea swirled gently in the white cup, it looked like dewdrops on a willow branch.

　　“Not yet?”

　　“I wish it was that easy!” Su Ru took the white teacup and blew at the piping hot tea to make it colder. She took a small sip and continued, “Lu Yurong is smart. She knew that we would go after him. Hence, she deployed a few men and set up various false clues to confuse us!”

　　“Gu Litong is still in the Ren Public House?”

　　“Impossible!” Su Ru put down her cup and said, “If he’s still there, we would’ve found him already!”

　　Chu Li laughed.

　　Su Ru scoffed at him, “What’s so funny?!”

　　Chu Li waved his hand about, signaling that it was nothing.

　　“Don’t think that I don’t know what’s on your mind!” Su Ru stared at him and said angrily, “Yes, it was my recklessness that led to Gu Litong’s disappearance. But that was back when I wasn’t paying much attention to him. Now that I have all my forces after him, he wouldn’t be able to hide from us if he was still in the Public House!”

　　Chu Li took a sip of the tea, held his cup high and pondered. “By that logic, he must’ve left the Ren Public House. Though we don’t know where he had gone to, and that’s going to be tricky!”

　　“If he could leave without anyone knowing, he can do the same when he returns.” Chu Li continued talking as he took another sip of the tea, finally putting down his cup. “It’s inevitable!”

　　“What choice do we have?!” Su Ru scoffed. “We can’t put the whole Ren Public House on lockdown now, can we?”

　　Chu Li responded with a smile. “With the powers of our Public House, why can’t we?”

　　Su Ru cocked her head towards him and asked, “But how?”

　　Chu Li raised his cup again, taking another casual sip.

　　“Come on, don’t leave me hanging!” Su Ru rushed him.

　　Chu Li put down his teacup, and then put up four of his fingers. “Set up four layers of surveillance net.”

　　Su Ru nodded, seemingly prepared to listen for more.

　　Chu Li pressed down his first finger. “First layer, the restaurants outside of town.”

　　He pressed down his middle finger. “Second layer, the doors of the city fort.”

　　Then, he did the same for his ring finger. “Third layer, guest hotels.”

　　He grinned from ear to ear as he pressed down the last finger, the little finger. “Fourth layer, arrange guards to be on patrol. With these four layers of security net, nobody can escape.”

　　Su Ru was deep in thought.

　　Chu Li raised his cup again, taking another sip of the tea. “With that, you can detect any of the slightest changes, and directly deal with it. You can even strike them before they realize.”

　　Su Ru observed Chu Li and curled her lips. “Chu Li, it’s such a waste of talent for you to be a Scribe!”

　　Chu Li laughed. “I’m only good at talking, nothing to be proud of.”

　　Su Ru rolled her eyes at him; she was considering everything that he had just said.

　　The Public House would catch wind of everything that had happened in town. They hired people like beggars or hawkers to be spies. They had ears and eyes all over town, and it was quite systematic as well. Though after hearing what Chu Li had pointed out, she realized that there might be places where they could do better.

　　“I’ll bring this up with the Lady!” Su Ru stood up. Then, she waved towards him, signaling him not to send her off as she left the place.

　　Chu Li smiled as he took another sip. He knew that there was still a long way to go before he could hold any legislative powers.

　　…

　　The night engulfed everything in darkness, even though the crescent moon hung high up in the sky.

　　Chu Li walked out of his small courtyard. He was planning to row his boat out of East Garden quietly to make sure that he did not wake Li Yue up.

　　He departed the Public House, passing through Chong Ming town and making his way towards Feng Shicai’s estate. His plan that night was to kill Feng Shicai because if he did not, his enemy would continue to look for people to take his life.

　　With the mastery of the Sentient Menace’s second stage, he was confident that he could escape the grasps of any Tempest Temple monks. Moreover, he also had the Imminent Skyline technique.

　　As he passed through the forest, he sighed — he was disappointed that he did not have any greater influence in the governing ranks. If only he had more power, he did not even have to come out on his own to locate his enemy. Besides, he would not have to dirty his hands with someone else’s blood as well.

　　It was a shame that he entered the Public House late; it was a shame that his experience was limited. Even as a Rank Five, he could not have gotten a hold onto any legislative powers. He would need to churn out another five more years before there would be any hopes of him achieving that. By that time, the chances of him succeeding would be scarce too. It was only slightly better than none.

　　If he wanted to get things done easier, he would have to expand his network. Take for example the Startling Cloud Clan; he would surely seize any further opportunities to do the same. Even if he could not get himself into the governing ranks, he would not be considered a weak person as well. Yet if he did get into the governing ranks in the future, it would be extremely easier for him to get things done.

　　Thousands of thoughts overwhelmed his mind, and suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. His Omniscient Mirror had detected somebody about three hundred meters behind him — there was an old man in grey robes wandering nearby, and he could sense an immense amount of inner energy within the old man’s body.

　　Chu Li’s eyebrow raised. ‘It’ an Innate Master!’

　　Chu Li turned around, straying away from the direction towards Feng Shicai’s estate, and made his way southwards instead. However, the old man had changed his direction as well. Clearly, he was following him. If not for the Omniscient Mirror, he would not have sensed the old man’s presence.