Xue Ling

The two of them walked out of Stargazing Tower. Chu Li could tell that Su Ru was rather unhappy.

"Chief, if I stay in the Public House, they won't be able to raise a finger against me!" He smiled and said.

"You can't possibly be planning on staying in the Public House forever, are you?" Her anger was evident in the tone of her voice. "Even if you're a Scribe."

"I'll lay low for a little while and it'll die down, I'm sure it'll all be alright. The Tempest Temple is a busy temple. They won't bother wasting their time trying to kill me."

"You clearly don't know anything!" Su Ru furrowed her dark brows. "These monks are stubborn. The second they decide on something, they'll get it done! Everyone they have ever wanted to kill is now dead. Don't be ridiculous, and don't you dare leave the Public House!"

"Well, is the town safe?"

"The town is safe, yes." Su Ru hesitated before replying. "They still have rules to follow so they usually won't cause trouble in town. But you're still better off staying in the Public House!"

"That's a relief..." smiled Chu Li.

Su Ru sighed. "You're a real troublemaker, aren't you, Chu Li? You just had to go off and offend the Tempest Temple! This is going to cause a whole world of trouble, I tell you!"

Chu Li shrugged sheepishly. "I can't help it, Chief. I always need to help the powerless around me. If I hadn't destroyed the Raging Tiger Troupe, I wouldn't be able to face my own conscience!"

"Hah… fine. Let's go." Su Ru was at her wit's end. She had nothing else to add. He was indeed doing the right thing, but people like him were never treated well. The world was already unfair as it was.

The two of them traveled through the thick forest to a small collection of courtyards behind the trees.

There were a total of twelve small courtyards in the area. They were all equidistant from one another, allowing each court to remain relatively isolated so as to not disturb each other. All of them were sufficiently large as well, with interesting and unique designs to them.

Su Ru brought him to the middle courtyard.

"This is the guest room of Lady Xiao's place." Su Ru said as she pointed at the collection of courtyards.

"They were initially used for her friends, but since it's rarely used nowadays, it has become quite quiet here. No one really comes here anymore."

"It looks pretty good." Chu Li remarked as he panned across the place.

The courtyards were in the middle of the woods and were very well hidden and quiet. Chu Li enjoyed these types of environments the most. The spiritual force here was vigorous and the air was fresh.

"Have a look at this one! What do you think?"

Su Ru opened the door to one of the courtyards. To the west was a bamboo forest with a pagoda next to it. To the east was a parterre with a pond full of fishes in it. This allowed him to enjoy the scenery of the bamboo forest whilst he was in the pagoda. There were also plants, fishes, and insects all around him. It was tranquil, to say the least.

They stepped out and Chu Li sized up his surroundings before nodding in satisfaction.

"You'll be living here and traveling to-and-fro the East Garden. Are these woods suitable to build the blessed farmland?"

"It should be fine."

"Is it not too small?"

"We are only just beginning. There's no need for it to be too large. We'll try things first and see where it goes."

He had no real-world experience and only knew how things worked theoretically. He needed to get a feel for how everything worked first in order to minimize the cost if he were to fail.

"I suppose that's fine too. In any case, the spirit dirt will be sent by tonight. You'll be able to work on it then."

Su Ru looked excited. "The Andromeda you had grown was very delicate. Lady Xiao really did improve. Your contributions know no bounds!"

Chu Li nodded and bowed slightly.

"Don't let your guard down just yet. Lady Xiao needs a lot of unique herbs for her cultivation, and I'm not sure if you'll be able to grow all of them!"

Chu Li smiled. "I understand."

After this, Su Ru clapped her fair looking delicate hands. A well-rounded and plump young lady appeared at the front door. Her figure was erotic.

Moreover, she was wearing a snow white gown and her dignified manner was similar to that of a noble. She seemed elegant enough, but the light tint of arrogance in her demeanor was noticeable.

Chu Li turned his head and looked at Su Ru curiously.

"This is Xue Ling. A maid, for you." Su Ru smiled. "Instruct her should you have anything you need her to do."

"It's an honor to meet you, Master." Xue Ling bowed as she walked towards him.

"This is… Erm, I don't think I need one..." hesitated Chu Li.

Su Ru smirked at him. "You can't be doing everything on your own now, can you? Just make use of her, no worries! She's smart and knows everything about the island!"

Chu Li analyzed her new maid as he activated the Omniscient Mirror

She was someone who was proud and arrogant. On the surface, she looked like she was respectful towards him, but she really could not have cared any less about him. It would be a little troublesome to have her as a maid.

"Are you not satisfied?" asked Su Ru, "Xue Ling is the prettiest maid on the island! Do you not like her?"

Chu Li looked over at Xue Ling again and frowned. "Isn't this a waste of talent?"

"You're rank six, and she's rank eight! It's not a waste of talent at all! It's fine, take your time and settle down, I'll be back at night."

Su Ru waved her small hands and turned to leave. However, right before she did, she playfully called out, "Oh yes, Xue Ling knows martial arts too! She isn't as weak as you think she is! So don't think about bullying her!"

"I wouldn't dare!" smiled Chu Li.

Su Ru wore a soft smile as she left elegantly, her gown waving in the wind.

After this, Chu Li observed Xue Ling. She was looking down and her delicate face was stiff. She made no movements as if she was a statue. She stood still, allowing Chu Li to look at her however he wanted to.

Chu Li coughed slightly. "There's no need to be so stiff."

He walked to the pagoda and sat down next to the stone table.

Xue Ling walked towards him and immediately got to work. She added some water to the small furnace and lit up the fire. Her moves were skillful and elegant - it was quite pleasing to the eyes.

Chu Li continued to observe her.

"I'm quite picky, as I have a lot of shortcomings, and I'm quite demanding! I hope you'll be able to stand it and refrain from complaining to the Chief!"

"There no need to worry, Master. I'll try my best to become a maid that is able to handle my responsibilities as well as possible!" Replied Xue Ling.

Chu Li smiled. "Admirable! Responsibility is all I ask for!"

"Everything I do, I shall do well." Xue Ling coldly replied.

The maids of the Public House were also guards, and they belonged to the Public House. They were not owned by anyone, Chu Li was actually not able to do whatever he wanted to the maid.

Chu Li shook his head and sighed. He had a beautiful maid next to him, and yet, he was uncomfortable. The power of women was formless, but it prevented people from ordering them around. It would have been better if it had been a butler, he would have been much more comfortable.

It was also truly unfortunate that all the men on the island were Protectors. Not one of them was a Scribe.

Soon, the furnace started to spark, and steam began to rise.

Xue Ling took a teapot made of white jade and made a cup of tea for Chu Li. She offered Chu Li the cup of tea with both of her hands. She wore a cold expression, despite her movements being full of respect. There were no shortcomings that one could pick on.

Chu Li sipped the tea and relaxed as the light scent and taste cleansed his organs. The tea itself was delicious, and her skill in brewing them was amazing. It seemed as though she had gone through plenty of training.

He enjoyed the lush scenery of the bamboos as he drank. He spaced out as the sound of the rustling bamboo and nature robbed him of his thoughts.

He thought about how should he deal with the Tempest Temple. Although Su Ru had mentioned that they were not likely to cause any trouble in town, there was no guarantee to that statement.

His situation was incredibly volatile. It was as if there were a sword hanging above his head that would drop if he made any wrong moves.

His only option right now was to make it to the stage of Grandmaster.

However, in order to reach that stage, he first needed to master the finest of the artistic concepts. Only when he has achieved enough to earn himself a name would he be offered the opportunity to train in a sect.

Moreover, once Lady Xiao completes her innate mastery, he would be credited for assisting her and Xiao Qi would not depend on him any longer. If that were to happen, then would he have a chance of entering a sect to train.

The downside to this was that he did not know what kind of spirit herbs Lady Xiao needed, and whether or not he was even able to grow them.

They were both innate masters, but their power levels were different. When innate masters trained to the point where they were a part of nature, and their inner energy had become as pure as nature's spiritual force, then they would have completed the innate mastery stage and finally entered into the domain of the Grandmasters.

Chu Li had benefited greatly from the Life and Death Scripture as well as the Omniscient Mirror. He had essentially skipped the later stages of innate mastery so that the only thing he was lacking was artistic conception.

The Infinite Azure Sea was indeed powerful, but it could not beat the Sentient Menace. If the Sentient Menace was trained to its extremes and was complemented with artistic conception, it would allow one to essentially face the world alone.

Right now, Chu Li was very sure that what mattered now was to train the Sentient Menace. This was so he could easily escape even if assassins were sent for him.

He stood up and walked out of the pagoda before striking a weird pose. Then, he began practicing the Sentient Menace.

A lot of inner energy rushed through his body before circulating the heart technique of the Sentient Menace. The energized and pure inner energy slowly turned into threads of spiritual force which began whirling around his body.

The cultivation of the Sentient Menace took up too much energy. Even with all the thirty-six styles, an innate master would have dried up his reserves after only a few tries. However, Chu Li had the Life and Death Scripture. With this, his inner energy reserve was virtually endless. This allowed him to continue cultivating and progressing incredibly quickly.

Without the Life and Death Scripture, the followers of the Temple of the Tempest had to rely on pills, and they required tons of them. The entirety of the Sentient Menace was built around the usage of these pills.

This meant that only the followers of the Temple could afford to train the Sentient Menace. A different sect would not even be able to train the Sentient Menace even if they were to obtain the guidebook for it, as they would not be able to afford the sheer amount of drugs required to train in it.

Chu Li's vigorous inner energy changed into streams of weird spiritual force and circulated within his muscles with the heart technique of the Sentient Menace. He began to feel more and more energized like he had endless amounts of power.

He cultivated it over and over from the morning until the afternoon with almost zero rest. He only stopped when Xue Ling delivered lunch, but even then only sat and ate at the table quietly whilst still immersed in the power of the Sentient Menace.

Xue Ling observed him from a corner without saying a word. Only the sound of Chu Li's munching was heard in the bright living room.

After he had finished eating, Chu Li put down his chopsticks.

"I'll be out for a bit. You don't have to follow."

"Yes, Master." Xue Ling replied.

He did not cultivate immediately after his meal, instead, he walked around outside to digest the food properly. He left the courtyard and went through the woods to the shore of the island. Then, he boarded a boat and returned to the East Garden.

Li Yue was in the middle of cooking when he saw Chu Li return. He quickly asked Chu Li what he wanted to eat when he saw him return. Chu Li waved his hand and replied that he had already had lunch.

Li Yue looked helplessly at him. Chu Li told him that he would be spending most his time on Jade Guardian Island from now and that Li Yue no longer had to keep any food for him.

Li Yue's eyes instantly lit up when he heard this. "Brother, you won the lottery!"

Chu Li simply smiled.

Li Yue took out the food and sat at the stone table before beginning to eat.

"Jade Guardian Island! That's Lady Xiao's private domain! You're going to stay there!? You've pretty much joined her circle."

Chu Li smiled. "It's not easy. She won't go easy on me if I don't meet her expectations!"

"That's true as well…" Li Yue muttered as he gobbled down a mouthful of rice. "Lady Xiao is very fair and strict. She doesn't allow for mishaps. If you're trying to waste her time and do nothing, then she definitely won't forgive you! Tread carefully!"

"It's up to you now, the East Garden, that is," smiled Chu Li.

"Leave it to me!" Li Yue said as he slapped his own chest. "But if anything happens, you'll still have to deal with it!"

Chu Li nodded. "Of course. I'm responsible for both sides."

"What about the residence outside the Public House? Can you handle them at the same time?" Li Yue suddenly asked.

Chu Li smiled and shook his head. "I have to help Sister Zhao Ying."

"Heh! I see you're making progress with Sis Zhao Ying!" smirked Li Yue.

"You're going to take her as your partner soon, aren't you?"

"It won't be that easy. A woman's heart is like a snowflake, I can't be reckless or risk damaging it, so you likewise don't try anything stupid."

"Of course not!" laughed Li Yue. "My mouth is sewn shut! By the way, it seems that Zhuo Feiyang has isolated himself for cultivation again, so you'd better watch out!"

Chu Li nodded.

Zhuo Feiyang's potential was really high. If he actually trained well, he would have no problem reaching innate mastery. Chu Li would be unwise to underestimate him.

Even though Li Yue was guarding the East Garden, he was oddly well-informed. He had friends from every circle and also had to network every time he ventured out of the islands. He had held many secrets at the moment, some were real and some were fake, but all of them were interesting and worth listening to.

He continued to eat as he explained why Zhuo Feiyang had begun isolating himself again. It was due to the fact that he was embarrassed about not being able to win over Zhao Ying.

On the other hand, Zhao Ying's swordsmanship was unbelievable. She had been so impressive in the Martial Arts Hall that no one could best her in swordplay. She was getting more and more recognition as another martial arts genius.

Li Yue laughed again as he reminded Chu Li to be swift so that Zhao Ying would not slip out of his hands.