40 Xia Mei
"Alright then, Brother Lu, we will go after the rain ends," Xia Lao said as he looked at the rain still falling heavily, with thunderclouds forming and lightning occasionally flashing.
The temple barely provided cover from the rain, with small water droplets leaking from the bamboo rooftop as they huddled near the fire, seeking warmth.
Yu Bai and Xia Jiang stood alert, carefully sitting opposite each other.
Xia mei kept her eyes closed, maintaining a meditative position, while Lu Zhen did the same.
Xia Long and the twins sat across from the fire, sharing its warmth.
There were silence which created an awards moment in the situation as no one talked however this time lu zhen couldn't give a sh*t. He had a more important job as he looked at his blue panel.
[LEVEL UP]
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[Name: Lu Zhen]
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[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Human/ Volgrith]
[Lifespan left: 120 years]
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[Attributes]
[Constitution: Divine physique(level 2)]
[Charm: Mortal(level 4)]
[Qi: (level 1)]
[Demonic qi: Uninitiated (level 0)]
??
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[Cultivation manuals]
[Cultivation technique: Verdant art(stage 1)]
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[Skills]
[Gluttony: level 4]
[Blade mastery: level 5]
[Adaptability: level 2]
[Aura control: level 2]
"Oh, I forgot about the gluttony skill. It looks like it levelled up when I defeated the snake." Lu Zhen's face contorted into a frown when he saw that three of his skills were capped at level 2.
"Levelling up takes longer and longer as my level increases. I need to find an exploit to maintain a faster levelling speed…" Lu Zhen thought with bitterness.
"Young Master Lu," Xia Mei said, looking at Lu Zhen with her abyss-like eyes.
She, who had been sitting cross-legged, approached Lu Zhen.
"Huh, what do you want?" Lu Zhen replied unpleasantly, irritated by Xia Mei's sudden interruption.
"Young Master, I am sorry if I offended you, but are you really a martial trainee martial artist?" Xia Mei asked, her tone filled with doubt.
"Yes, I am," Lu Zhen replied, puzzled by her abrupt question.
As his mind cleared a bit, he noticed the woman who had triggered his earlier outburst standing before him. She still stirred his lust, albeit to a lesser extent.
"Miss, who are you?" Lu Zhen inquired, searching his memories for anyone resembling this woman, but he couldn't recall anyone who matched her description.
Xia Long was taken aback by Xia Mei's unexpected politeness towards Lu Zhen.
"What's this bitch up to now?" he wondered but remained silent, listening attentively with a smile on his face, although he clenched his hands.
Xia Mei's eyes flashed with a strange colour.
"How can he be a martial trainee with the sense of danger I am feeling?" Xia Mei thought as her black eyes sparkled with a golden glow. She observed a black and strange golden fire with a hint of pink mixed in around Lu Zhen, burning like a beacon in the night.
Xia Mei had a little secret she had never shared with anyone, not even her father: She could see a strange fire around people, which conveyed their relative strength and danger level. The stronger someone was, the brighter their aura appeared.
These colours of people varied depending on their nature. She had categorised them based on the colours they exhibited. Black usually means they are a cold person and a killer who has killed hundreds. Golden, on the other hand, signified individuals destined for greatness, rulers who could conquer even the heavens, at least as far as she could discern they were born conquerors.
Turning her gaze to her brother, she noticed a pink aura surrounding him. However, her brother appeared quite weak compared to her; his aura was barely visible. Pink, in her observations, denoted those who were overly lustful, which was no surprise considering her brother's reputation.
She had always known her brother harboured an insatiable lust for her, even from their childhood. However, she had managed to escape his advances with him being the heir of xia family she couldn't even do anything.
Fortunately, she had earned an opportunity to join the Pink Autumn Sect due to her talent and hard work, which had helped her maintain her purity till now.
And now, having become an inner disciple of the sect, she held the belief that her brother would finally stop pursuing her. As to not offend the sect however little she knew that her brother's idiocy reached a level that she couldn't even comprehend as all he thought about was lust.
She joined this trip with Xia Long because she needed Delphinium, a vital ingredient for her combat skill, the [Ethereal Frostblade]. This skill allowed a martial artist to release an icy cold temperature which could directly freeze the opponent; it didn't even need a medium to travel. Once, a practitioner of this combat art managed to defeat a third-stage martial artist while still at the martial trainee stage. Although the third-stage martial artist was heavily injured, this achievement was terrifying in itself.
Mastering this combat art would significantly enhance her combat prowess, boosting her overall abilities and greatly improving her odds of attaining the status of a core disciple.
Core disciples were highly regarded in the sect, and attaining that status would grant her immense resources and prestige, even within her own family. Her family would have no choice but to respect her.
At first, she had hoped to obtain it from the sect, but to her disappointment, the sect didn't possess any Delphinium. Even if they did, it would have cost an exorbitant sum that she could barely afford, despite her careful budgeting from her cultivation savings. The demand for it was so high that any available stock was quickly sold out, leaving her with no realistic chance of acquiring it.
When she had returned home for a visit during the winter, she had informed her family about her need for Delphinium. She didn't have high hopes, but she wanted to exhaust all possibilities. Unexpectedly, her brother Xia Long had claimed to have found the Delphinium during his adventures, though it had not fully grown so he had drawn a map to get it when it fully matured. So she had made a deal to trade eye of Maya which was a precious cultivation item which could help to increase the cultivation speed for the delphinium.
"Brother Lu, this is my sister, who joined the Pink Autumn Sect to cultivate," Xia Long introduced her, unable to hide his jealousy and anger as he watched her staring at Lu Zhen as if lovestruck.
"I've heard about the talented individual who joined the Pink Autumn Sect to become their disciple," Lu Zhen remarked, extending a greeting.
Xia Mei had a frown on her face when she noticed her brother's disturbance. She glared at Xia Long for a moment before turning her attention back to Lu Zhen.
"Young Master Lu, I've heard great things about you. It is my honour to let Young Master Lu carry out our task," she said, her lips forming a seductive smile. Her body swayed slightly, causing her cleavage to move, and her voice took on a seductive tone.
"As long as you can help us I can give you a qi item."
She wanted to establish a friendship with Lu Zhen, as he was the heir of the Lu family. The Xia and Lu families were both major families in the city, alongside the Jia and Huang families. Based on what she had observed, Lu Zhen's strength was comparable to that of a third stage martial artist, and he even surpassed most ordinary third-stage practitioners. Despite the rumours of him being a drunkard and a trash, which had left a bad impression on her, seeing him in person had made her doubt the authenticity of those rumors.
This ignited a desire within Lu Zhen. However, he didn't reply to her and remained silent, giving her a meaningful look.
"Young master..." Xia Mei was about to continue, but she noticed that Lu Zhen was staring intently behind her, which stunned her.
When she looked back, she saw the two twins cutting meat as they prepared food. Lu Zhen ignored her and, with a hint of curiosity, went to the twins, who were preparing wooden skewers and marinating the meat.
She examined herself, but her confidence was slightly shaken when she realized that Lu Zhen was completely ignoring her. She was accustomed to men lusting after her like dogs in heat, and she was confident in her beauty.
Lu Zhi skillfully handled the task while Lu Qing assisted her brother with some activities.
"Let me try," Lu Zhen asked as he observed them closely.
Hearing their new master's voice, the twins immediately stood up, bowed, and said, "Yes, Young Master," although they wore confused expressions.
The twins had already prepared all the necessary steps for skewering the meat, so Lu Zhen only needed to place the skewer on the rock and let it cook in the heat. However, he frowned when he only saw salt in the meat.
"Where are the other seasonings?" Lu Zhen inquired.
"Young Master, we don't have the seasonings," the twins replied respectfully.
"Actually, Young Master, even the salt was hard to come by. We only had some because Lu Zhi happened to have some in his pouch, allowing us to use it on the meat," Lu Qing added respectfully.
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