Chapter 229: Chapter 111: A Heart of Adoration
"Father, you were looking for me?"
Li Haitao handed over the documents in his hand and said in a low voice, "Take a close look at this."
Li Mengchao took the documents. His fingertips brushed across the rough pages as his eyes quickly scanned the writing.
He had already learned of Yang Jing’s deeds from the family’s secret agents last night. Reading this written report now only confirmed what he was thinking.
After reading the last line, he tossed the documents onto the table with a soft THWAP.
"This Yang Jing... he’s really something," Li Mengchao said, his tone calm but unable to hide a trace of gravity. "With his current strength, I’m not sure I could win if I were to face him now."
Li Haitao nodded at his words, a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
He was well aware of Li Qianxiong’s strength. Li Qianxiong had truly stood at the Peak of Dark Energy. An ordinary master at the Peak of Dark Energy couldn’t even last five moves against him. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a top-tier expert below the Huajin realm.
Yet, such a figure had been slain by Yang Jing, which was enough to prove just how terrifying Yang Jing was.
Even his own son, who had cultivated the family’s top-tier martial art, the Vajra Hand Seal, and was now a top-tier expert at the Peak of Dark Energy himself, would likely not come out on top against Yang Jing. He might even be at a disadvantage.
"What are your plans?" Li Haitao asked, looking at his son.
Li Mengchao looked up, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Father, I’m preparing to enter closed-door cultivation."
"Closed-door cultivation?" Li Haitao’s brow furrowed slightly as he instantly understood. "You mean to... attempt a breakthrough and charge into the Huajin realm?"
"Yes," Li Mengchao affirmed with a solemn nod, his tone firm. "I have been polishing my skills at the Peak of Dark Energy for years. My foundation is deep enough, and the circulation of my Inner Strength is already masterful. I now have a fifty percent chance of a successful breakthrough."
Li Haitao was silent for a moment before nodding slowly.
The bottleneck to the Huajin realm had stopped countless Martial Artists in their tracks. To have a fifty percent chance was already exceptionally rare.
His son was exceptionally talented and willing to put in the hard work. His accumulation over the years had indeed become incredibly profound.
"Yang Jing may be strong, but he’s still in the Dark Energy realm," Li Mengchao said, a confident smile playing on his lips. "If I can break through to the Huajin realm, then even if he’s invincible below Huajin, he’ll be nothing special in my eyes."
Stroking his beard, Li Haitao’s eyes filled with gratification. "Good! Go and focus on your cultivation. All the resources of our estate are at your disposal. Just ask for any medicinal herbs or auxiliary items you need. You must give it your all and strive to break through in one go!"
The heavy feeling in his heart, born from Yang Jing’s rise, dissipated considerably at that moment.
His son had always been the leader of the younger generation in Yuhe County. If he could become the youngest Huajin Powerhouse, then no matter how stunning Yang Jing’s achievements were, he would still have to stand in his son’s shadow.
"Mm," Li Mengchao acknowledged with a nod. He stood up and said, "I’ll go back and prepare now. I’ll adjust my condition and begin my cultivation tomorrow."
With that, he turned and strode out of the study, his back straight, radiating a sharp aura of absolute determination.
Li Haitao watched his son depart, then glanced at the documents about Yang Jing on the table before slowly picking up his teacup.
...
The Qi Family estate.
In an elegant boudoir in the inner courtyard, Qi Yun sat before her dressing table, carefully tracing her eyebrows in the bronze mirror.
She had chosen a stick of luozidai eyebrow powder today. Her fingertips twirled it lightly, and she was just about to draw the arch of her brow a little higher when the door was thrown open with a BANG.
"Who is it?"
Qi Yun jumped in fright. The eyebrow stick nearly fell from her hand onto the mirror stand. She looked back to see her elder brother, Qi Kang, bursting in with an anxious expression, clutching a few sheets of paper.
"Brother!"
Qi Yun rolled her eyes, her tone reproachful. "This is my private room. Don’t you know you’re supposed to knock before entering? You scared me."
She set down the eyebrow stick and smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt, her face still showing annoyance at being disturbed.
But Qi Kang paid no mind to that. He strode to the dressing table in a few steps, slapped the documents onto it, and said urgently, "Never mind that, hurry and look at this!"
Seeing his serious expression, which suggested he wasn’t joking, Qi Yun grew curious and picked up the documents to read.
At first, she read casually, but as she continued, the expression on her face slowly froze.
The papers detailed Yang Jing’s deeds: how he had single-handedly stormed the stronghold, slain Li Qianxiong, and annihilated the Flying Horse Thieves. At the end was the assessment: invincible below the Huajin realm.
"Is... is this real?" Qi Yun looked up abruptly, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes filled with disbelief. The papers trembled in her unsteady hand. "Yang Jing... he killed that Li Qianxiong? And wiped out the Flying Horse Thieves?"
She had long heard of Li Qianxiong’s fearsome reputation. He was a ruthless character who was a headache even for the authorities, and practically unrivaled within the Dark Energy realm.
’Yang Jing is strong, but how could he possibly kill Li Qianxiong?’
"It’s absolutely true!"
Qi Kang nodded emphatically, a hint of lingering fear in his voice. "The six great families received the news yesterday. By now, it’s probably spread to all the other families in the Inner City. I heard even the County Magistrate was alarmed. This Yang Jing has truly given all of Yuhe County a shock!"
Qi Yun couldn’t help but gasp, her fingertips trembling slightly.
’Invincible below the Huajin realm... What does that mean?’
’Their Qi Family wasn’t as powerful as the six great families. The strongest expert in their clan was only at the Peak of Dark Energy.’
’If Yang Jing decided to move against the Qi Family, couldn’t he wipe them out all by himself?’
"I never would have expected it either," Qi Yun said, her voice a little hoarse.
Qi Kang paced back and forth a few times before suddenly stopping, his gaze burning as he looked at her. "Let me ask you, didn’t you say before that Hall Master Sun once tried to arrange a marriage between you and Yang Jing?"
Qi Yun froze, then nodded subconsciously. "Yes, that happened. But I didn’t agree to it at the time."
She recalled how decisively she had rejected him in public, and her face began to burn.
"You silly girl!" Qi Kang slapped his thigh in exasperation. "How could you turn down such a golden opportunity?"
Qi Yun opened her mouth, wanting to say something in her defense, but found her throat tight.
’How could she have known that the junior brother she’d looked down on would grow this powerful in such a short time?’
Qi Kang’s brow was tightly furrowed. He suddenly seemed to recall something and asked, "You told me before that Yang Jing used to try hard to get on your good side at the Martial Arts Hall, always fawning over you. Is it possible... that he had feelings for you?"
Qi Yun’s cheeks flushed beet red. She remembered how eager and attentive Yang Jing had been toward her when he first joined the Martial Arts Hall last year.
She’d heard he had even borrowed a good deal of silver coins just to treat her to a meal. Given Yang Jing’s quiet personality, why would he have gone to such lengths if he didn’t adore her? At the time, she had only thought he was trying to latch onto her family’s status. Thinking back on it now, it all felt... different, colored with an unexplainable significance.
She lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. "M-Maybe."
The room fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the wind outside the window.
Qi Yun stared at her own flushed cheeks in the bronze mirror, her heart a whirlwind of complicated emotions.
Before, it was true that she had detested Yang Jing.
But somewhere along the line, her opinion of him had gradually started to change.
Upon hearing her reply, however, Qi Kang’s eyes suddenly lit up!
