Chapter Ninety-Six:
Inside the window, the young man held a teacup. After exchanging glances with her for a few seconds, he turned to talk to the person opposite him. His delicate face had a perfectly measured smile, and he was surrounded by a golden aura.
A hint of surprise flashed in Jingwu's eyes. Had he broken through?
The last time we met, he was only at the late Golden Core stage; now, he's already at the Nascent Soul stage.
Wow, that was fast.
The next second, Jingwu's competitive spirit flared up. She gritted her teeth and decided to cultivate even more diligently.
When Ruan Chongyue turned around, she saw her niece chewing her teeth so hard that she was speechless. She was stunned for a moment, and following her gaze, she saw the boy's bewitching face.
She frowned, a sense of curiosity rising within her, wondering why her niece had such an expression.
Before I could figure out the reason, I heard a commotion coming from inside the examination hall.
People waiting outside craned their necks to look inside, but unfortunately they couldn't see anything.
Jingwu also withdrew his gaze and looked in that direction. With just one glance, he understood what had happened.
Soon, several people carried a man out of the examination hall.
The man grimaced, veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat dripped down his face, clearly in extreme pain.
Jingwu looked at that familiar face and coldly withdrew his gaze.
Judging from his pained appearance, it seems that Yao Chenbi used flying needles to cast a spell.
He deserved it.
"Oh my, isn't this the brilliant and talented scholar Feng Runqian? What's wrong with this genius scholar?"
A woman recognized the man, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
Since the Feng family mother and son came to Pingjiang Prefecture two months ago to prepare for the provincial examination, the inn where they stayed has become known throughout the surrounding area for miles around, thanks to the Feng mother's boasting that her son is a genius and the only scholar in their village.
Mother Feng was arrogant and looked down on the other examinees at the inn.
Her husband was nearly thirty when he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, which she mocked several times.
Now that Feng Runqian has been carried out of the examination hall, she will surely take the opportunity to kick him while he's down.
When Feng's mother heard these sarcastic remarks, she didn't have time to care about her son and went straight up to tear her mouth apart.
"Hey, someone come quick! There's trouble in front of the examination hall."
This woman was no pushover either; seeing her like this, she immediately shouted.
The guards at the door immediately came out, gagged Madam Feng, and dragged her away.
The woman raised her eyebrows and spat, "Let's see how you'll be able to act so arrogantly in the future."
After this farce, candidates began to emerge from the examination hall one after another.
Jingwu stood with the Shao family, and after a short while, he saw Shao Chengrui come out.
The family rushed to greet them, without even asking how well they had done on the exam, and led them directly to the inn for a meal.
As the group entered the inn, they were immediately met with a sticky gaze fixed on them.
Jingwu sensed discomfort, looked up and glanced around, his gaze settling on a door on the second floor.
She frowned, about to do something, when she heard someone speak beside her.
"Why do I feel like someone is watching us?"
Ruan Chongyue rubbed her arms, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Jingwu's eyes darted around, and then he said, "Aunt, you all eat first, I'll go back to my room for a bit."
"Let's eat before we go back," Shao Che said immediately.
Jingwu shook his head, his eyes fixed on the door.
She had a premonition that the person she was looking for was behind that door.
"Aunt, Uncle, don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Upon hearing this, the Shao family immediately understood that she must have something on her mind, so they didn't say anything more and nodded in agreement.
Seeing that they had agreed, Jingwu immediately went up to the second floor.
She made hand gestures and chanted incantations, creating a protective barrier around the room.
Then, he knocked on the door.
The moment the door opened, an old man with a sage-like appearance appeared before her.
Jing Wu narrowed his eyes. Upon sensing the aura emanating from him, he immediately recognized that this person was Jiang Chu, who had been plotting behind his back.
Her face turned cold, and she immediately conjured a spirit sword, thrusting it towards him.
The person in front of them was also prepared and immediately formed a protective shield.
"You little girl have no martial ethics. You didn't even say a word before you started fighting." Jiang Chu stroked his beard calmly, a kind smile on his face.
"There's nothing to say between us." Jingwu took out a lightning-summoning talisman and was about to chant a spell when he was knocked to the ground by a powerful gust of air.
She staggered a couple of steps before regaining her balance and looked at the person in front of her in surprise.
Despite the man's profound cultivation, she sensed an evil aura within that current of energy.
"I'm an old man who's lived for two hundred years. How could a little girl like you, who's only ten or so, possibly beat me?" Jiang Chu raised his eyebrows slightly, a smile on his face, but his eyes were icy cold.
"Little girl, you have good talent, but you're just average in the Xuanmen sect. Why don't you come with me? I'll definitely let you learn more techniques. What do you say?"
"impossible."
"Don't rush to refuse, think it over carefully first." Jiang Chu's gaze fell downstairs to the Shao family members who were having dinner. He didn't take the person in front of him seriously at all; she was just a teenage girl, and even if she turned on him, she couldn't hurt him.
He smirked and threatened, "You don't want your family to die with you, do you?"
Upon hearing this, Jingwu's expression turned cold, and her mind raced. This person had recently had his soul-locking formation broken by her, so he should have suffered a backlash.
Therefore, he must have internal injuries.
She glanced at the Shao family members who were occasionally glancing in their direction and decided to take a gamble.
Jingwu pretended to be thinking, but actually secretly took out a Purple Thunder Talisman.
This superior-grade Purple Thunder Talisman was given to her by her master to save her life. Although this talisman may not kill the person in front of her, it will definitely seriously injure him.
Taking advantage of the moment when the person in front of him wasn't paying attention, Jingwu immediately began to silently chant a spell in his mind.
The Purple Lightning Talisman spontaneously combusted, and by the time Jiang Chu realized something was wrong, it was too late.
The purple lightning descended swiftly, splitting the roof and striking him directly in the back.
Perhaps he had done too many heinous things, and even the Heavenly Dao could not tolerate it. This bolt of lightning struck him so hard that he knelt on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"you!"
Jiang Chu's eyes gradually turned cold, his gaze seemingly poisoned, chilling to the extreme.
"You just wait!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately disappeared underground, vanishing without a trace.
Jingwu breathed a sigh of relief after he left.
Then, looking at the damaged roof, he felt a headache coming on.
What should we do? If only we had known, we should have taken the jade pendant from his waist and given it to the shopkeeper to repair the roof.
Jingwu frowned, still unable to come up with a solution, when he heard someone walking towards them.
Turning around, I saw the innkeeper's thirteen-year-old daughter walking towards me.
She stared in shock at the roof collapsing, then quickly went inside to check on her house.
"Oh my god! What's going on?!"
Jingwu watched as she smoothly entered the barrier, which shattered silently, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
How did this person in front of me enter my barrier?
Jingwu frowned and took a step toward her. The next second, he saw the beads on her hand.
Boundary-Breaking Bead?
The Boundary-Breaking Bead is an ancient artifact, said to be a product of the fusion of chaotic power and the laws of heaven and earth. It can break any barrier and also conceal the aura of its holder.
She remembered her master saying that this thing was in the hands of a sorcerer surnamed Ma, who had achieved perfect merit and ascended to immortality several years ago.
But how could such a precious artifact end up in the hands of a young girl with no cultivation?
Before Jingwu could figure it out, he heard the girl in front of him speak.
"Young lady, do you see how this roof is damaged?"
Looking into the girl's clear eyes, Jingwu touched his nose, feeling a little guilty: "Ahem, a bolt of lightning struck down just now and damaged this roof."
"Huh?" The girl was slightly taken aback, then quickly realized, "You mean, heavenly lightning?"
Jingwu nodded awkwardly: "Wait for me a moment, I'll restore it right away."
As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately pinched her lips and chanted a spell, repairing the damaged roof bit by bit.
The girl in front of him stared wide-eyed at the scene, her face filled with disbelief.
"You, you're a sorcerer?"
Jingwu nodded.
Upon hearing this, the girl instantly became excited: "I knew it! Your actions just now were exactly the same as those recorded in the book my grandfather left behind. I knew the book my grandfather left behind couldn't be fake."
Jingwu grasped the key point and was about to ask when he heard a woman's voice coming from downstairs.
"Ma Yuxi, what are you doing upstairs? Are you slacking off again?"
The shopkeeper's wife stood in the hall, looked up and shouted at her, "Come down quickly and go wash your brother's clothes."
"Okay, Mother, I'll be right there." Ma Yuxi replied, then said to the person in front of her, "I'll come find you after I finish my work."
As soon as she finished speaking, she hurriedly went downstairs to get to work.
Jingwu gazed at her figure, then lowered his eyes in deep thought.
His surname is Ma, so he must be a descendant of that sorcerer.
But why has this family never practiced cultivation?
Jingwu recalled the appearance of the innkeeper and his wife, and couldn't help but frown.
Although neither of them had any real talent, their daughter, Ma Yuxi, was indeed extremely talented.
Why didn't you cultivate?
Jingwu stood in the corridor looking down for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it and went downstairs to eat.
Anyway, she said she would come to see me later, so I'll just ask her later.
In the evening, Ma Yuxi knocked on her door, and Jingwu opened the door and let her in.
The girl placed a pot of tea and a plate of snacks on the table, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Sister, this is my treat. Can you tell me what a mystic is like?"
As she spoke, she poured herself a cup of tea and placed it on the table.
Jingwu picked up his teacup and took a small sip: "What do you want to hear?"
“I’ve heard my father and mother say that my grandfather was a sorcerer who could predict the future and catch ghosts. He was really amazing. Moreover, he even became an immortal.” Ma Yuxi said with a smile, holding her face in her hands. “By the way, my grandfather left behind a booklet with some spells recorded in it. I found it quite interesting, so I flipped through it all.”
Jingwu placed the teacup on the table and looked at the person in front of him: "If that's the case, then why doesn't anyone in your family follow in your grandfather's footsteps?"
“My father had no talent. He was beaten by my grandfather countless times when he was young, but he still couldn’t learn it. So my grandfather stopped teaching him, left him some money, and helped him open this family inn.”
"And what about you?" Jingwu asked, noticing the sudden change in the man's expression. "You are exceptionally intelligent. Your grandfather must have considered teaching you, so why didn't you?"
Ma Yuxi opened her mouth, but hesitated, as if she wanted to say something.
A hint of resentment flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her innocent look: "My mother said that these ancestral secret techniques are passed down to men, not women, and my grandfather is not allowed to teach me. She wanted my younger brother to learn them, but unfortunately, my grandfather ascended to the immortal realm when my brother was born, so he could no longer teach him."
Jingwu twitched the corners of his mouth, recalling the five or six-year-old boy he had seen at the inn during the day, and couldn't help but sigh.
In the whole family, only Ma Yuxi has talent, no wonder the Breaking Realm Pearl was handed to her.
If she were Master Ma, she would definitely slap that good-for-nothing son of his.
Jingwu rubbed her temples and looked at the person in front of her. She could tell that the girl in front of her was unwilling, otherwise she wouldn't have secretly followed the book to practice magic.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you want to cultivate the Tao?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Yuxi immediately raised her head, her eyes shining as she looked intently at the person in front of her: "Does the young lady mean she is willing to take me as her apprentice?"
“I don’t accept disciples.” Jing Wu shook his head, looked at her and smiled, “I can introduce you to my sect and let you become my master’s disciple.”
"Who is your teacher, young lady?"
"Shuangcheng Temple".
Ma Yuxi's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the name.
She had heard her grandfather mention that Shuangcheng Temple had existed for over a hundred years and was once very famous.
If she could become a disciple of Shuangcheng Temple, she would no longer have to secretly learn the techniques and be forced by her mother to teach them to her younger brother.
When Ma Yuxi thought of this, she couldn't help but smile: "Thank you, young lady."
"Don't thank me yet. Whether my master can accept you as his apprentice depends on your abilities." Jing Wu looked at the girl in front of him and a smile appeared on his lips.
"I will definitely do my best." Ma Yuxi had already made up her mind. Even if she couldn't be accepted as a disciple, it wouldn't matter. She could still be a cleaning disciple in the outer courtyard.
You can cultivate with everyone and study the book left by your grandfather. You will definitely be able to become a mystical master like your grandfather.
As she thought of this, her hand unconsciously reached for the beads on her wrist.
Fortunately, her parents were just ordinary people and had no idea that her grandfather had given her such a powerful artifact.
Jingwu looked at the girl's determined eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, and a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
She took a silver note out of her pocket and handed it to her.
"Here is your travel money. I await your good news."
"Thank you, young lady. If I am fortunate enough to become your junior sister, I will certainly..."
"You should do it first," Jingwu interrupted her. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, but the old man's eccentric temperament made her hesitant to make any wild guesses.
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