Tian Du City.

Sword Card Master Association.

After Senior Qiu’s matter was settled, Lu Ming was sent back after a few days. After all, his sister needed to re-cultivate, he could not stay for long.

He returned to the association.

Li Haoran reported about the shadow as soon as he saw him.

It was a pity, but he had not seen the shadow for two days.

He heard that a large number of disciples fabricated stories and drained the shadow… It was said that near the end, the abilities could no longer be enhanced.

Of course, it was also possible that the shadow went to a website beginning with ‘S’, and checked the stories adapted by the disciples.

Lu Ming sighed.

It was not easy to lead a team!

“Where’s Xiaobai?”

Lu Ming came to his senses.

The young girl would usually be the first to welcome him.

“She is in your room.”

Li Haoran whispered. “I don’t know what’s been up with Senior Sister these past two days. She bought a lot of papaya coconut milk and the like… She is still doing exercises in her room. Hence I did not tell her that you are back.”

“Eh?”

Lu Ming looked bewildered.

He knew about papaya coconut milk, but… exercises?

“Let me take a look.”

Lu Ming went to her room, looking puzzled.

Xiaobai was lying on the ground. Two Original Cards were suspended in the air, one plastered on her forehead, pulling her in one direction and another plastered on her legs, pulling her in the other.

Lu Ming walked forward with a dumbstruck expression.

W-what was going on?

“Xiaobai?”

Lu Ming was puzzled.

“Ah!”

Xiaobai was startled. “Master!”

Shush!

She put aside the two Original Cards.

Xiaobai got up and threw herself against Lu Ming happily.

“What are you doing?”

Lu Ming stroked the girl’s head. “I am just asking out of curiosity.”

“Stretching.”

Xiaobai bowed her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Stretching?”

Lu Ming was surprised.

Damn!

Was that what stretching looked like?

Xiaobai was very serious. “According to the latest research, if one stretches their muscles and bones every day during the growing phase, it helps development and growth.”

Lu Ming became sullen.

Damn! What kind of crazy finding is that?!!!

This is a human you’re talking about!

Does she think that she is a carrot?

“Nonsense!”

Lu Ming said unhappily, “Come down.”

“Oh.

Xiaobai slid down from his arms skilfully.

She was not stuck.

“What is your little brain thinking?”

Lu Ming was between laughter and tears.

Xiaobai was a super genius and she read a wide range of books. He was far inferior to her. However, she had read too many different kinds of books.

For example, the one with this strange and mysterious stretching exercise.

“I want to grow taller.”

Xiaobai got on her tiptoes.

She wanted to be as tall as Sister Xiaoqing.

Although her master did not say anything, whenever Sister Xiaoqing was there, her master would always unconsciously glance at her long legs!

She had to work harder!

“This girl…”

Lu Ming laughed involuntarily.

“Be good.

“We are not in a hurry.

“My Xiaobai is very adorable no matter how tall she is.”

Lu Ming touched her little head.

He could only console her. She had been working hard everyday. He could not possibly tell her to give up, saying that she could never grow up…

“Really?”

Xiaobai’s eyes lit up.

“Of course.”

Lu Ming smiled.

Right then, Xiaobai’s wristband communication device vibrated. She took a glance and frowned. “Humph, it is those bad people again!”

“What happened?” Lu Ming asked.

“It’s about the reporter from last time.”

Xiaobai was somewhat agitated. “Although we stopped the information from circulating, by cutting it off at the source, there were people who saw it and made absurd comments!”

“Oh?”

Lu Ming took a curious glance.

It was an article regarding Lu Ming. It talked about Lu Ming’s talents, looks, achievements. The comments were interesting to say the least…

“Mountain and the sea: Spat.”

“Mountain ghost syl: There is no need to spit. I have seen the cover as well.”

“Sunny rain: There are very few people who are that ugly.”

“Mighty hazy green: Given his looks, how could he pride himself on being dashing. I feel like vomiting.”

“Master.

“Do you think we should silence…”

Xiaobai suggested.

“Don’t.”

Lu Ming broke out in a sweat.

“Young girl!”

Lu Ming pulled her to him and said with a serious expression, “We are in a civilized society. We don’t just silence someone on a whim, do you understand?”

“Oh, okay,” Xiaobai replied obediently.

“These people might be evil, but we must be kind-hearted,” Lu Ming explained patiently.

“Okay,” Xiaobai replied.

“However…”

Lu Ming fiddled with his communication device and suddenly said, “It just happens that the Didi Beating app is giving out a few free vouchers. It would be a pity to waste them, right?

“Don’t you think so?”

With that, he made a few orders.

Xiaobai blinked her big eyes. So that was how it worked?

However, all of these were minor issues, it was fine as long as Master was happy. Her master had been away for a long time.

“Master, I will prepare food now.” Xiaobai left to prepare his lunch.

“Okay.”

Lu Ming nodded slightly.

Finally some real food!

He no longer needed to survive on compressed dry food!

He only needed to eat a small amount of compressed food and he would be full for several days. While the energy crackers seemed small, when they fermented in his stomach and became larger…

It was an uncomfortable feeling.

After a long time, Xiaobai prepared and served his meal. She also prepared a special Liangpi[1] dish.

“Let me tell you this ahead of time,” Xiaobai warned. “No slurping!”

“Of course not.”

Lu Ming felt amused.

Was he that kind of person?

What had happened previously was an accident.

“Alright.”

Xiaobai set the meal down and turned on the television as usual.

Shush!

A news report popped up.

It talked about the structural adjustment of the Swordsman Association. Lu Ming took a glance at it out of curiosity and suddenly thought of what had happened in the land of the fallen.

The outcome was good, all of them had died.

However, there were still some problems.

For example, their families.

According to his ten years of experience in reading Qi Dian [2. Qi Dian is a Chinese platform offering all kinds of web novels of different genres] novels, whenever a villain was killed, it was like poking a nest… their supporters would be exposed.

Right, this was only true for villains.

In the novel, the protagonist usually wandered the world by himself. He was born a loser and was not liked by his uncle or grandmother… But for every villain that died, many of his relatives would come out to seek revenge…

This was an united family.

“Well…

“We need to pay attention to this.”

Lu Ming felt that there was a need to understand the details. It would be troublesome if his enemies sought revenge. Hence he contacted Meng Shisan.

“Oh.

“You’re referring to that.”

Meng Shisan smiled. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh?”

Lu Ming was curious. “Don’t tell me they don’t have any families?”

“They had families yesterday.

“But not today,” Meng Shisan said in an understatement.

Lu Ming was speechless.

This was amazing!

What else could he say?

It seemed that the big shots of the Swordsman Association were also very ruthless! However, Lu Ming did not wish to intervene in the battle between the two factions of the Swordsman Association.

He was not qualified to do so either.

Since they did not pose any threat, he could not be bothered.

“Lu Ming.

“Wanna know something?” Meng Shisan whispered. “You are the idol of many Swordsmen.”

“Idol?”

Lu Ming was puzzled.

“That’s right,” Meng Shisan said secretly, “During the battle, some of them took videos. Although there were no professional devices and the videos were taken haphazardly, all the videos were put together and edited to show the fighting process. Although the higher-ups forbade us from discussing what happened

“Well…

“You should understand.

“What happened might be covered up, but the videos… the more one tried to cover them up, the more they spread. Right now, your video has been circulating widely in the Swordsman circle.

“Everyone knows that you killed a peak six-star and a two realms six-star!!!

“Now…

“You are worthy of being a quasi seven-star!”

Meng Shisan was excited.

There was no choice.

He had witnessed that battle!

He personally witnessed Lu Ming’s combat abilities. There was no way he could stay calm!

Lu Ming?

Five-star?

No one would believe it.

From this moment on, in the eyes of everyone, Lu Ming had real top-notch six-star combat abilities! The scariest part was that he had… infinite potential!

It was a quality transformation to change from a peak five-star to a six-star!

Right then, Lu Ming had already defeated a two realms cultivator. Once his energy transformed and he became a six-star, Lu Ming’s combat abilities would be terrifying!

As such, once the video started spreading, Lu Ming was named a [quasi seven-star cultivator]!

What was a seven-star?

Only people whose combat abilities were two realms and above and had a high chance of becoming a seven-star cultivator, were qualified to be called a quasi seven-star!

As for Lu Ming, he was the first five-star cultivator to be named a quasi seven-star cultivator!

There was no other cultivator that could be compared to him!

Lu Ming was silent.

Quasi seven-star…

Although it sounded very arrogant… for unknown reasons, he felt guilty… He was well aware of his combat abilities. Those two fights were unlike regular combat!

Defeated An Mingdong?

If he was not wrong, the first time he defeated An Mingdong was because An Mingdong used his blood swordplay and drained himself of all his energy!

The second time he defeated An Mingdong was because he used Elimination Cards to melt down the entire group of men in black!

As for the man in black…

It was even worse!

He imploded because of the Stars Card!

If it had been real combat…

Lu Ming remembered clearly that he had exhausted all the means at his disposal and he dealt the enemy with an explosive strike using the Lunar Shadow Sword, but the attacks were only at peak six-star level!

He could be defeated by any peak six-star!

“Is [quasi seven-star] that powerful?” Lu Ming asked.

“Of course,” Meng Shisan said proudly, “Every [quasi seven-star] is a super genius. There are only a few hundred of them in the entire world. For example Yan Suya and your sister!”

Lu Ming was expressionless.

Although his real combat abilities were far inferior to his sister’s, from the news, he was already considered second to his sister and Yan Suya!

At the thought of this, he panicked even more.

“Lu Ming.

Meng Shisan whispered, “Privately, we have been analyzing the swordplay you used in the videos. The swordplay that you used to defeat the two realms cultivator and the group of men in black was too special… Is it your hidden trump card? We cannot understand it. However, the video which showed how you defeated An Mingdong the first time was most widely spread!

“An Mingdong was very powerful. He attacked you with sword after sword and you retaliated each of his moves.

“Both of you were evenly matched!

“But in fact, it was a duel between an advanced five-star and a peak six-star…

“You have no idea how excited we are!

“According to my information, the veterans of the Swordsman Association seem to want you to give a lecture on how to use swordplay correctly…”

Ss——

Lu Ming gasped as he slurped his Liangpi.

Damn!

He was a five-star salted fish[3.Salted fish: Chinese internet slang for a boring and idle person with no ambitions.] and he was told to give a lecture to peak six-star Swordsmen!?

Was this a joke?!

“Master!”

Xiaobai puffed up her face in anger.

That’s annoying!

Master is a big liar!

Humph!

I’m taking it away!

With that, she took away the bowl of remaining Liangpi.

“Huh?”

Lu Ming came to his senses. He could only watch helplessly as his Liangpi was taken further and further away… until the bowl disappeared in the kitchen.

Alright, Lu Ming rubbed his head.

Oo…

The Liangpi was not the main point. What was important was what he should do with the Swordsman Association’s invitation.

Crap…

“Is this true or not?” Lu Ming said in a low voice.

“Of course it is true.”

Meng Shisan was very certain. “There are many veterans in the Swordsman industry. Although grandmasters are powerful and they had a profound understanding at the grandmaster level…

“There are some skills that they can teach, but there are also some that they are unable to teach.

“Besides…

“Before the veterans broke through to seven-star, they were not as powerful as you…”

Meng Shisan said softly.

“Crap.”

Lu Ming wiped his perspiration.

He felt extremely guilty about those kinds of compliments.

A lecture…

He looked through the swordplay department of the Sword Card Master Association.

In fact, after the improvements made and the continuous contribution of the geniuses, the swordplay department of the Sword Card Master Association had become a qualified department.

Zhao Yunshan constantly adapted the swordplays!

The disciples continued to improve the swordplays!

In the end, the disciples of the Sword Card Master Association had combat abilities that were as good as a Swordsman! They used their cards instead of the swords and they were as strong as a Sword Embryo!

However, even if everything was added up and coupled with Lunar Shadow Swordplay, it was still only one swordplay!

They did not have much knowledge about swordplays!

Compared to the Swordsman Association that had integrated many systems over countless years…

They were too weak!

What could Lu Ming talk about?

Lu Ming thought for a long while. He could only refuse the offer. “I am afraid I can’t do it.”

“Are you sure?

“What I told you is the higher-ups’ intentions.

“I am sharing it with you in advance.”

Meng Shisan secretly shared a piece of news with him. “The president of the headquarters might be the one who extends the invitation… If some people are able to increase to another level or break through to seven-star…

“It is likely to be of great benefit!”

→_→

Lu Ming had the urge to try it out.

However…

He was well aware of his abilities. He could never accept it!

He would give himself away!

There were many nit-pickers these days. If any peak six-star challenged Lu Ming, he would be dead…

Besides, challenging the other party was the most common method used in the Swordsman lectures.

“I’m sorry I can’t,” Lu Ming declined firmly.

“Alright.”

Meng Shisan had no other choice.

Perhaps secret skills were involved… It was normal that Lu Ming was unwilling to share. Therefore, he told the association about Lu Ming’s decision.

There were after all many talents in the Swordsman Association.

Some powerful Swordsmen watched the video of Lu Ming on their communication device, observing and studying it repeatedly…

They would study it when they were in the toilet, eating, or even in bed.

“These poses…”

“These shadows…”

The Swordsmen were mesmerized.

Finally, they found the true secret of Lu Ming’s sword.

Although Lu Ming glowed with blue lights and the Sword Embryo turned into the Original Card. When the image zoomed in, its quality was similar to adult videos. They could still see the sword.

This was becoming one with the sword!

As well as the phenomenal swordplay that Lu Ming came up with.

It was that sword!

Although it was completely unrecognizable, it was still that sword.

Furthermore, it was said that the sword was sold in the Swordsman Association?

The Swordsmen were thrilled.

With the help of the big shots, they painstakingly studied and developed a three-second long swordplay that would allow the Swordsman to become one with the sword at the last minute!

Afterward, they used their swords…

They were successful.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

The Swordsmen hurried to buy this swordplay and their powers increased!

“This is very powerful!”

“This is seven swords in one, with multiple sword shadows… my combat abilities have increased significantly!”

“My combat abilities have increased to another level!”

“Me too.”

The Swordsmen were elated.

It turned out that…

This was the secret of Lu Ming’s sword!

Almost all the six-stars purchased this swordplay.

At this very moment, Lu Ming who just finished his meal was clueless as he stared at the soaring sales of the phenomenal swordplay. 20, 30, 50, 100, 1000…

What was happening?!

Lu Ming was shocked.

This was the phenomenal swordplay!

It was very costly!

Average people would not be able to buy it!

Lu Ming had not planned on selling many copies. He was only thinking of selling some copies and the proceeds would be used as additional funds for the association’s operations. He never expected that…

It would be that well received!

“Master!”

Li Haoran came looking for him in shock. “Today’s income has exceeded that of last month!”

“I know.”

Lu Ming’s mouth felt dry.

He checked with Meng Shisan and found out why.

Everyone was crazed about it!

Everyone in the Swordsman Association was learning the phenomenal swordplay!

Not only that, it was said that all sorts of loan companies, like Banana Loan or Cucumber Loan had set up their businesses in the Swordsman Association…

One only needed to make a down payment of 10% and they could purchase the phenomenal swordplay!

As such…

Many of the Swordsman Association disciples were studying this move. The average combat abilities of the Swordsman Association had increased to another level!!!

“This…”

Lu Ming was between laughter and tears. What else could he say?!

He knew that he would benefit a lot from the so-called [quasi seven-star] and the so-called video, but he never expected the benefits to be that multiple!

Income!

Massive income!

As well as the adoration and worship of countless Swordsmen!

Of course, this was the good side.

That aside, Meng Shisan told him some unfortunate news. Some of the people from the Swordsman Association were unhappy with him.

“Haha.”

“This swordplay… it is no wonder Lu Ming is not willing to share it with us…”

“Yes, it is so powerful and simple.”

“Look, Lu Ming was named a quasi seven-star because of this… Can we be named a quasi seven-star with this as well?”

“One not only needs combat abilities. One needs to be talented as well!”

“We are certainly talented! We are still young. We are only thirty years old. Our hair has not fallen out!”

“That is possible!”

Some Swordsmen were thrilled.

Quasi seven-star!

Although it was only a title, it came with a lot of prestige in the association! If they could be named quasi seven-stars…

And since one needed to have combat achievements to obtain the rating, they decided to challenge a quasi seven-star!

And that was…

Lu Ming!

Lu Ming was dumbstruck for a long time.

Damn!

Why were they challenging him?!

“They are just some clowns.”

Meng Shisan sneered. “Their combat abilities are worse than mine. They think that they are very powerful as they have mastered the phenomenal swordplay… naive! They are not even qualified to be cannon fodder in the land of the fallen! Since they want to challenge you, I accepted it on your behalf. You can teach them a good lesson!”

“Ah…”

Lu Ming hurried to say. “No, Old Meng…”

“I know you are kind-hearted.

“It’s okay!

“There is no need to be merciful,” Meng Shisan assured him. “Go ahead to fight them! You don’t have to take into consideration the other Swordsmen or to preserve our dignity! It is a good opportunity to show these people how powerful you are!

“These nit-pickers…

“They are too arrogant!

“You must teach them a lesson. It’s for their own good,” Meng Shisan said.

Upon finishing his words…

He seemed to be in a hurry to attend to other matters. He said his goodbyes and ended the call.

Lu Ming was speechless.

Damn!

He had no intention of fighting them!!!

…

[1] Liangpi is a noodle-like Chinese dish made from wheat or rice flour. It is a specialty dish originating from the cuisine of the Shaanxi Province but has now spread to many other places in China.