Villainous

Li Daoming sat in a foul mood, picking at plates of food in his favorite restaurant.

This was the first time in his life he'd been so humiliated, with nothing he could do about it.

It was one thing if the other party were of higher status than him; this was just some nobody.

But why was he so strong?!

No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, this past week, all he could think about was how that bumpkin had shown him up.

But if a Golden Core expert couldn't take care of him, just what was he supposed to do?

His family had confirmed they wouldn't be making any moves against him as long as he was under the protection of the Long family.

And he realized, rationally, that he should just let it go at this point, but his pride wouldn't let him forget, no matter what he did to try and keep his mind off of it.

Booze, drugs, women, nothing seemed to work.

"Damn it..." he muttered, taking an angry swig of his wine.

Just as he was about to drown his sorrows again, for the day, the rumble of his private room's sliding door being opened pulled his gaze over, his frown deepening as he saw who it was.

"And just what are you doing here, Long Jingfei?" he asked in a surly voice.

"Now, is that any way to greet your sister-in-law?"

Long Jingfei strutted into the private room like she owned it, smiling at Li Daoming with a mocking gaze.

Her face was similar to Long Meiling's, but her bigger bust and curvy waist gave her a decidedly more sultry look, accentuated by her revealing dress.

Li Daoming simply turned away with a click of his tongue, going back to drinking his wine.

"Quit messing around. If you're just here to laugh, then get lost."

Long Jingfei smiled even more brightly, taking a seat for herself and leaning forward playfully, revealing just a bit more of her cleavage.

"Oh, but I know little Daoming wouldn't turn down a request from me, would he?" she said in a mockingly innocent tone.

"...What do you want?"

Jingfei smiled in triumph, before grabbing a plate of food and leaning back in her chair, popping a piece of meat into her mouth.

"My stupid bitch of a sister seems to be working hard, lately," Long Jingfei said, chewing noisily, "Probably preparing for the Young Geniuses exhibition, no doubt."

"I wanted your help in teaching my sister her place."

"What did you have in mind?" Li Daoming asked suspiciously.

"Just invite her to dinner at your house before the exhibition, and slip this into some of her food."

She produced a tightly tied pouch from out of her dress, throwing it onto the table.

"Three days before. That will give this stuff enough time to circulate through her meridians."

Li Daoming picked up the pouch of unknown substance and grimaced.

"And why do I have to do it? Do you really think she'd accept an invitation from me, in the first place?"

He didn't even bother to ask what the stuff inside the pouch was.

"Don't worry, I'll get Father to make her go. And as for why you need to do it, well, it's so you can take the fall if you happen to get caught."

Jingfei smiled at him sweetly, quickly finishing the plate of food in her hand.

"Don't worry though, this was made by a third-grade alchemist, so I don't think they'll notice it," she said through a mouthful of food.

"Just make sure it gets done. I'm sure I don't need to remind you what happens otherwise!"

With that, she left as suddenly as she arrived. Li Daoming was left sitting there with a stormy expression, his already foul mood worsening

Who was the real bitch, here...?

--

"Phew. Excellent, Sir Ryker. You're really getting the hang of qi control, now."

Cheng Hui lungs heaved as he and Ryker concluded their latest sparring session.

"Hehe, thanks. And it looks like your muscles have gotten pretty strong from the body refining, too!"

A few more days had passed since they first started, and they were now on to sparring with weapons, their respective swords held loosely at their sides.

Ryker's qi control was now much more agile than before, almost on par with the speed a peak Qi Gathering expert should have, which was impressive considering he'd only been cultivating for around two weeks, now.

Cheng Hui had also taken this time to learn some mana control from Long Meiling, using it to perform more body refinement in his spare time.

He was also spreading this knowledge to the rest of Long Meiling's personal guard, having them follow the same body refining routine.

The results were impressive; in just these few days, they had all gained strength comparable to breaking through a minor realm.

Although body refinement techniques were not uncommon in the Zhou empire, they were all considered inefficient methods of raising one's power.

The time it took to complete the beginning stages of these techniques was about the same time it took for Foundation Establishment experts to break through a minor realm, and for much less payout.

But for Ryker's method that could show such exaggerated results in such little time, many large powers would fight tooth and nail to obtain it!

"Let us break for now," Captain Cheng said after he wiped the sweat from his face with a nearby towel.

"I have some matters to attend to, so you'll have to practice on your own."

"Sounds good, my dude. Enjoy your alone time with Yuhan!"

Ryker gave him a cheeky grin, to which he blushed faintly in embarrassment.

"W-what nonsense! I'm just overseeing the squad's training, the rest of them will be there too!" he sputtered, looking away.

Ryker waved him off as he stomped away indignantly.

Wiping his own sweat off, he went back to practicing the movements of his Life Severing Sword, paying close attention to both the motions and his qi circulation.

Although the system could allow him to instantly comprehend and understand how to use a technique in battle, it didn't grant him complete mastery over it.

He could still practice to perfect his movements and commit them to muscle memory. However, he'd only gone through a few cycles when he heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Hard at work, I see."

He turned to see Long Meiling approaching from the direction of the dining hall, having just finished her lunch.

"Yeah, gotta keep the sword arm ready, you know?" he answered, sheathing his sword with a grin.

They'd been talking with each other more casually after the night they'd hung out at the Reflection Pond.

Although they still didn't interact much while they were training, they at least greeted each other and made small talk, now.

"You don't practice with your staff? I thought that's the weapon you usually use," Long Meiling commented.

"Ah, I switch it up every day. I kinda like the sword better, though," he said.

Ryker had alternated between his two current weapons for sparring with Cheng Hui, the Sturdy Iron Cudgel and the Snow-Rimed Sword.

Of the two, he was honestly more suited for the staff, but he was more interested in learning the sword.

Although he had obtained the Manual on Sword Intent a while back as a system reward, all it did was give him knowledge on the intricacies of the Sword Dao and what sword intent was, making it easier for him to comprehend sword intent, if he ever got to that point.

He still needed to cultivate sword qi, himself, if he wanted to start on the path of a sword cultivator.

The Frozen Sword Lotus, however, let him refine sword qi from its sword-like petals, and it even came with an innate ice attribute, allowing him to branch into ice-based techniques, as well.

Or so Bestie had explained. All he knew for sure was that he could infuse this sword qi into his sword, increasing the destructive power of the blade and his control over it.

Combined with his newly learned Life Severing Sword Art, his swordplay was at a very high level, now, comparable to a peak Golden Core expert if he used mana in conjuction.

Going forward, he would need to fuse his strands of sword qi together and temper it into sword momentum, which he would then have to meditate on to comprehend sword intent.

This was for the future, though. There weren't many people on the continent that had ever comprehended sword intent, after all, and it seemed like this wasn't something the system could help him with, either.

"Oh, hey, did you wanna go out to the market for dinner, tonight? My treat!" Ryker said after they finished catching up, holding up the pouch containing his allowance.

"Pff. Do you think I need you to treat me with my own money?"

"Young Miss!!!"

A shout coming from the courtyard entrance interrupted them, and they looked to see Wang Yuhan running towards them in a tizzy.

"Young Miss! Li Daoming has invited you to dinner three days from now!" she hurriedly said, eyes looking worried.

"Huh? Well, of course I'm not going," Long Meiling replied.

"I'm sorry, young miss," Yuhan continued with furrowed brows, "but your father has specifically ordered you to attend as his fiancee."

Meiling frowned slightly, before giving Ryker a sidelong glance.

"Hm. Fine. But Ryker will be accompanying me, as my escort," she said, crossing her arms.

"Huh? I will?" Ryker asked in confusion, pointing to himself.

"Yes. From now on, you are officially a member of my personal guard," Meiling declared imperiously.

"Your first mission is to escort me to dinner at the Li family residence in three days."

Ryker just gave her a perplexed stare, tilting his head to the side.

She rolled her eyes, sighing at his obliviousness.

"Li Daoming is probably furious with us, after you beat up both of his goons. I need you and Mini C to help me in case they try anything funny," she explained impatiently.

"Ohh, right, right, you're talking about *that* asshole," Ryker said, nodding his head in understanding.

Meiling just rolled her eyes again, wondering why her best bet for protection also seemed so unreliable.