Chapter 95: The Li Family’s Two Young Masters

The next day, news spread that the Triple Ultimate Martial Hall, after its hall master, the venerable Wind Moonlight of the Spring and Autumn Martial Hall, had spent the entire night in long conversation with Lu Mountain River of the Triple Ultimate School of Martial Arts, had decided to restore its instruction fees at once, matching the prices charged by the other martial halls.

As soon as the news broke, an uproar of curses rose in every direction.

Of course, the one being cursed was not the Triple Ultimate Martial Hall, but Wind Moonlight.

The common people were unanimous in their belief that the Triple Ultimate Martial Hall had changed its prices only because Wind Moonlight had forced its hand.

In the martial kitchen, Lu Yan was leisurely preparing a dish of oath lizard meat.

From the very beginning, he had never intended to hold out to the bitter end. Did he not understand the lesson that the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind?

His purpose in setting such low teaching fees at the start had been nothing more than to make a name for himself.

Otherwise, if he relied on reputation alone and waited for it to build slowly, who knew how long that would take?

Now that his goal had been achieved, and Wind Moonlight had even lent him a favorable current, of course he should ride it downhill.

At any rate, the one being scolded was not him.

And since his prices now matched those of the other martial halls, anyone who wished to learn martial arts would still come to him first.

After all, he was strong, and if money was offered, he would teach; he was not the sort to hoard his skills and keep them hidden.

So even after the prices returned to normal, a steady stream of people still came to study under him.

Three days later, Li Quan came to report that someone was seeking an audience.

Lu Yan arrived in the main hall and saw a young man seated there, drinking tea, with three burly men standing behind him.

The young man was quite handsome, with sharp brows and bright eyes. He wore a long robe of purple silk, and around his waist hung a jade belt inlaid with jewels. At a glance, it was clear that he was no ordinary person.

This young man had a considerable background.

“I am Lu Mountain River. May I ask who you are, young master?”

Lu Yan said, cupping his fists.

The young man rose with a smile. “I am Li Azure Forest.”

Lu Yan was startled. He quickly returned the salute. “Could you be one of the Twin Young Masters of the Li family, Li Azure Forest?”

In Hundred Herbs City, among the younger generation of the Li clan, there were two most celebrated figures. Both had entered the martial marquis realm before the age of twenty-five, and were known as the Twin Young Masters of the Li family.

Li Azure Forest was one of them.

The other was named Li Azure Green.

“It is only an unworthy reputation,” Li Azure Forest said with a smile.

“Young Master Li, please be seated.”

Lu Yan invited Li Azure Forest to sit, then took his own seat and asked, “With your honored presence today, this humble hall shines with uncommon splendor. I am only curious, Young Master Li—what brings you here?”

“My young master is especially fond of befriending heroes and outstanding men. He is open-minded and values talent. Under his command are three hundred retainers. Hall Master Lu has considerable skill—would you be willing to follow my young master?”

One of the burly men behind Li Azure Forest spoke up.

So he had come to recruit him.

But Lu Yan had no interest in such a thing.

He had once joined the Red-Clad Guard out of necessity. Back then, his strength was low and he had neither money nor resources.

But now, he had both men and resources, and in his hands lay a second-tier blood earth vein. There was no need at all for him to seek shelter under the Li family.

“First, I thank Young Master Li for his regard, but ever since my family was wiped out, I have lost all appetite for ambition. I only wish to open a martial hall, earn a little money to live on, and pass on everything I have learned. I hope to spend my later years in peace and do not wish to become involved in the affairs of the great families again.”

Lu Yan declined gently.

“Lu Mountain River, it was already a great honor that the young master came in person—”

The burly man’s expression changed, and he was about to speak in anger.

“Zhao Lu.”

Li Azure Forest stopped him. The smile never left his face, and he did not seem angry at being refused. Instead, he stood and said, “Each man has his own ambitions. I am not the sort to force my will on others. Since Hall Master Lu does not wish to involve himself in the affairs of the great families, I shall not press the matter. Farewell.”

“Young Master Li, take care.”

Lu Yan rose and escorted Li Azure Forest and the others to the door.

“Young master, this Lu Mountain River does not know a favor when he sees one. The young master personally came to recruit him, and he still dared refuse. Should we not find someone to teach him a lesson?”

Once they had left the Triple Ultimate Martial Hall, Zhao Lu could no longer hold back.

Smack!

Li Azure Forest slapped Zhao Lu so hard that he was sent flying five meters away. One side of his face instantly swelled up.

“Fool.”

Li Azure Forest’s eyes were cold as he looked down at Zhao Lu. “Our line and Li Azure Green’s line are competing more and more fiercely. I can be certain that Li Azure Green will also come to recruit Lu Mountain River. Since Lu Mountain River cannot be used by us, we cannot push him into Li Azure Green’s camp either. If you send men against him, that is no different from forcing him over to Li Azure Green’s side.”

“Yes, yes, yes. This subordinate was wrong. Please forgive me, young master.”

Zhao Lu knelt and kowtowed again and again.

“You have followed me for so long, and you are still this stupid. One more time, and you may take your own life.”

Li Azure Forest kicked Zhao Lu flying and strode away.

On the rooftop, Lu Yan watched in silence.

“Open-minded and eager to elevate the worthy?” A trace of mockery touched Lu Yan’s lips, and he turned back into the room.

Two days later, another young man came to call.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the one who had accompanied the young man was none other than Wang Saber.

By now, Wang Saber was entirely different from before. His eyes were bright, his spirit vigorous, like a battle saber just drawn from its scabbard.

After Lu Yan came to Hundred Herbs City, he would whenever he had the time spar with Wang Saber in saber techniques. Under Lu Yan’s guidance, Wang Saber had finally broken through the fog and, two months earlier, had brought the Moon-Reflecting Saber to the level of unity between man and martial art. In doing so, he had attained the acquired martial body, received the gift of heaven and earth, cleansed his marrow, and transformed himself anew. Even his appearance had grown much younger; he now looked only to be in his forties.

When Lu Yan had first brought the Diamond Body to the level of unity between man and martial art, his blood capacity and physical condition had increased by fifty percent.

But that was because, before then, Lu Yan had already formed the acquired martial body three times, and his foundations were far beyond those of ordinary men.

Wang Saber, however, had only an ordinary constitution. This was the first time he had formed the acquired martial body, and the improvement had been enormous: both his blood capacity and bodily strength had doubled outright.

Naturally, Wang Saber could not recognize Lu Yan.

Lu Yan’s present appearance was different from the face he had shown when they first met.

After a few polite exchanges, Lu Yan learned that the young man was none other than Li Azure Green, one of the Twin Young Masters of the Li family.

No wonder Wang Saber, despite once possessing a divine weapon like the Scarlet Blood Saber, had never been robbed of it. So he had been backed by Li Azure Green, one of the two young masters of the Li family.

Li Azure Green was not as handsome as Li Azure Forest, but his gaze was calm and his expression carried none of that overbearing arrogance. He gave a more comfortable impression.

His purpose, of course, was to recruit Lu Yan as well, but Lu Yan declined in the same way.

“Hall Master Lu, until we meet again. I hope that in the future we may become friends.”

Li Azure Green stood and cupped his fists. Even after being refused, he did not become angry, and his expression remained gentle throughout.

“To be friends with Young Master Li would be my honor.”

Lu Yan replied courteously, then escorted Li Azure Green and Wang Saber out of the martial hall gates.

After that, he went up to the rooftop once more and watched the two of them depart.

“It seems the competition between the two great factions of the Li family is growing fiercer by the day. Even someone like me, with five breakthroughs beyond the limit, has drawn the personal attention of both young masters.”

Lu Yan pondered the matter.

Some information about the Li family surfaced in his mind.

After living in Hundred Herbs City for so long, how could he not investigate the city’s sole overlord?

The current patriarch of the Li family was an experienced grandmaster-level powerhouse, but he was already old and had little life left. Choosing a successor was now an urgent matter.

Within the Li family, there were two candidates most qualified for the position.

One was the father of Li Azure Forest, Li Ask Pavilion.

The other was the father of Li Azure Green, Li Ask Heart.

Both men were the most outstanding talents of the previous generation of the Li family. Now in their forties, both had already reached the peak of the martial marquis realm and stood only one step away from becoming inner-force grandmasters.

With their talent, and with the resources of the Li family behind them, the probability that either would advance to grandmaster level in the future was extremely high.

Because different factions supported the two men, the Li family had split into two great camps, locked in open and hidden struggle, and the conflict was only intensifying.

“Li Quan, gather information on the Twin Young Masters of the Li family and give it to me in seven days.”

Lu Yan instructed Li Quan.

Seven days later, two dossiers were placed before Lu Yan.

He opened them one by one and read through them carefully.

Extremely gifted in martial arts, able to endure hardship, but naturally suspicious—this was the assessment of Li Azure Forest.

As for Li Azure Green, the assessment was: exceedingly gifted in martial arts, bold and generous by nature, open-handed and unconstrained by petty formalities, and fond of befriending heroes of the martial world.

Lu Yan rubbed his hands together, and the two dossiers turned into scraps of paper.