By the time he got back to the Public House, it was not noon yet, as the speed of his return journey was very much faster than the initial one; the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait was indeed phenomenal.

　　He had gained another six hundred thousand taels, and his wallet was now thicker.

　　Xue Ling routinely prepared him several delectable-looking dishes. Besides, she had also prepared a jar of wine for him.

　　Chu Li was famished by the time he got there, so he ate to his heart’s content. At that moment, he felt at home.

　　He was enjoying his food in the pagoda when the door of his small courtyard was pushed open and Su Ru walked in. She was dressed in a chestnut-yellow robe, and she wore a faint fragrance. However, her bright eyes stared fiercely at Chu Li.

　　Chu Li was surprised to see her but he grinned. “Chief, fancy having lunch together?”

　　“Chu Li!” Su Ru straightened her face and scoffed at him.

　　Chu Li asked, “Is this about Ding Weisong?”

　　Su Ru snapped, “What did you promise me?!”

　　“Chief, can you please hear me out?” Chu Li smiled back at her.

　　“Talk to me!” Su Ru sneered. “I would like to see how you explain this!”

　　Chu Li gave a wider smile. “If I told you that I wasn’t the one who hired Ding Weisong to kill me, will you believe me?”

　　“Then who else?”

　　“Feng Shicai!”

　　“Him?” Su Ru glared at him and scoffed, “He has the guts to?”

　　Feng Shicai may be a big name and a top-notch innate master in the martial arts world, but for the Public House, killing him was as easy as stepping on an ant.

　　Moreover, Chu Li was one of the members of the Public House. If he had died, the Public House would not stand by and do nothing. Though it seemed like Feng Shicai was very sure that the Public House would not be able to track down Ding Weisong, and in turn, they would not be able to trace it back to him!

　　“Chief, I hope you don’t underestimate those people in the martial arts world. They’re all hot-blooded and cruel. But I am the cause of Feng Wen’s death, how can Feng Shicai let me off the hook?”

　　“True, Feng Wen was his only son.” Su Ru accepted what he had said.

　　Feng Shicai was a slick old man. Yet no matter how slick he may be, he had his own weaknesses. Since Feng Wen was his only son, no matter how useless he was, Feng Wen was still his own flesh and blood, who died in Chu Li’s hands in the end.

　　However, Su Ru could understand the pain and sorrow of losing a child. Whereas Feng Shicai knew that he could not kill Chu Li with his own hands, so it was logical for him to hire someone else to do the job for him.

　　“Ding Weisong was really hired by him?”

　　Chu Li nodded resolutely. “One hundred percent!”

　　“This Feng Shicai!” Su Ru scoffed loudly and shut her lips tight.

　　Even though she knew what it was like to lose a child, she could not tolerate the action of assassinating a Scribe of the Yi Public House; not to mention a Rank Five like Chu Li! What did he think the Public House was?

　　Chu Li replied, “Let’s not rush to capture him. With him around, we could bait out those monks from the Tempest Temple.”

　　He half-expected the Tempest Temple to lay out another trap for him, but by keeping them occupied, he could have more freedom.

　　“Does Ding Weisong have the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait, then?” Su Ru smiled.

　　Chu Li nodded hesitantly.

　　Su Ru’s eyes widened as she exclaimed in astonishment, “He does?”

　　Chu Li answered, “He had indeed cultivated the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait, but it’s a shame that he only managed to cultivate one of the six diagrams. If not, he would’ve been much more powerful.”

　　“Ding Weisong was already very strong, seeing as he was capable of escaping from the combined forces of you and Zhao Ying,” Su Ru said. “Zhao Ying’s now an Innate Master!”

　　Chu Li replied, “The Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait is a great deal. Though for him to cultivate it and get defeated like that, it’s an embarrassment to its name. By the way, does the Lady want the second volume?”

　　Su Ru shook her head. “The Lady is not interested with it.”

　　Chu Li smiled as he said, “Without combining both volumes of the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait manuals, the secret technique would not be complete. If one only cultivates the first volume, there won’t be much effect.”

　　Su Ru asked curiously, “So the reason you could not cultivate the first volume was because it was incomplete?”

　　Chu Li replied to Su Ru’s question, “If one could not even finish cultivating the first volume, then it’s better not to try at all. To cultivate the whole manual, it would require a mindpower that is much higher. If my dharmic base aren’t strong enough, I will self-destruct under its powers. The elders of White Tigers’ Cave were being very thoughtful, to separate it into two volumes.”

　　“Oh…” Su Ru became more intrigued.

　　Chu Li smiled again. “Xue Ling, bring out the paper, pen, and ink!”

　　“Yes.” Xue Ling did as she was told as she brought out the paper, ink, and pen. Once she was done with grinding the ink block to make ink, she handed them to Chu Li.

　　Chu Li started to draw the six diagrams of the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait. The tiger on each diagram looked very vivid as if they were alive.

　　When he was done, Chu Li put down his pen and smiled at Su Ru. “Chief, these are the six diagrams.”

　　“Your drawing skills aren’t too bad!” Su Ru complimented him. She observed the six tiger diagrams, and then she closed her eyes.

　　“Argh!” She suddenly screamed in terror, her hands wrapped around her head.

　　Chu Li grinned as he watched her.

　　Su Ru only put down her hands after a long while. Her face looked pale, and she feebly asked, “What happened?”

　　Instead of answering, Chu Li asked, “How did it feel?”

　　“Once I began visualizing the first diagram, my head felt like it was going to explode.”

　　“That means you don’t have enough mindpower. It’s best you don’t force yourself.”

　　“Fine.” Su Ru sighed, giving up hope. “Then you should continue cultivating it. I hope you can finish mastering the Sentient Menace technique soon, and then go out there to kick some evil monks ass!”

　　Su Ru waved goodbye with her hand as she turned around and left the place.

　　…

　　The night was serene.

　　Chu Li had cultivated the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait twice inside his house. Then, he walked outside and cultivated the Sentient Menace technique. After seventy-two moves, he could hear his blood flowing with force in his meridians.

　　The Sentient Menace technique had taken a huge step forward in terms of improvement.

　　The effects of the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait were extremely strong, but he was worried — he did not know when it would fail him. If that happened, it would be difficult for him to master the Sentient Menace technique.

　　The four followers of the Tempest Temple, whom he had killed, were not able to complete the cultivation of the Sentient Menace’s later stages as well. Moreover, it seemed like no one in the temple had completely mastered the move as of now.

　　He did two rounds of Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait, which was then followed by one round of Sentient Menace. He kept repeating the same routine, walking in and out of the house. For the whole day, he focused solely on his cultivation, and by late evening the next day, his body was emitting a golden glow. He looked like a golden Buddha statue, standing proudly under the waning Sun.

　　Xue Ling watched him with her mouth agape.

　　Chu Li wrapped his hand around his fist as he started smiling.

　　Xue Ling hurriedly asked him, “My Lord, have you mastered it?”

　　Chu Li shook out his wrist by stretching his arm a little. Then, he smiled. “Only the second stage!”

　　“That’s still quite an accomplishment,” Xue Ling praised him with delight.

　　She had personally witnessed how much pain Chu Li had suffered, and how many baton-hits he had endured. Finally, his efforts bore fruits today, as he finished with the cultivation of the second stage. Not only that, it served as a reminder for her to up her efforts as well.

　　However, Chu Li stopped smiling; the next stage would be the tendon. Once he had mastered that, his physical strength would vastly increase, and the same goes for his speed. By that time, he might stand a chance to defeat the Innate Masters from the Tempest Temple.

　　“Xue Ling, thrust me with that sword in the pagoda.”

　　“… Sure.”

　　Xue Ling picked up the sword and then leaped out from the pagoda. As she landed in front of Chu Li, she thrust the sword at his shoulder.

　　“Ding…” a metal clang sound rang out; the sword could not make its way through his skin.

　　Chu Li grinned from ear to ear. “Try harder.”

　　“Ding…” Xue Ling increased her pressure.

　　“Ding…Ding…Ding…” Xue Ling repeatedly thrust the sword for another ten more times.

　　With every thrust, she kept increasing her force. By the end of it, she was sapped of energy, but still could not pierce through Chu Li’s skin!