Chapter 256: A Blade’s Reckoning at the Su Residence
by xennovelAt the Drunken Goose Tavern.
A gentle breeze drifted as night fell like water, and the silver moon shone like a tilting, clear spring.
Above the Heavenly Dome, the Cosmic Chessboard spanned across the sky, its flashing lines weaving in every direction as if adorning the stars.
Li Che wore the Ogre Mask, and his eyes flashed with streaks of pale gold like scattered lightning!
He stared at Huang Jianjiu, who wore a gentle smile.
The great family that had risen and fallen for three thousand years.
He intended to pay it a visit.
And kill some dogs.
Was Huang Jianjiu planning to take on the Su Family?
All by himself?
Impossible!
Beneath the mask, Li Che furrowed his brow and shook his head, not confident in Huang Jianjiu’s prospects.
Although Huang Jianjiu was immensely powerful, on par with the prime You Liqing, even if he joined the Corpse God Sect and acquired some means to boost his strength…
The Su Family, however, was the premier clan of Daocheng, forged over three thousand years of rise and fall, with an unparalleled foundation…
How could Huang Jianjiu, alone, contend against them?
In truth, Li Che had longed to act against the Su Family, especially since Su He Lian once harbored ill intent, targeting XiXi by attacking her heart.
That was something Li Che, as a protective father, could not abide.
The Su Family was scheming with underhanded tactics to deceive his daughter’s affections!
It was unforgivable.
Thus, Li Che struck down Su He Lian, but…
It was only that much.
Wiping out the entire Su Family was beyond him—an insurmountable task…
After all, the Su clan still boasted cultivators at the Divine Fetus stage.
Moreover, based on You Liqing’s explanation of the Divine Fetus Four Gods Transformation and the Martial Saint Four Divisions, Li Che suspected that within the Su Family there might be not just one Divine Fetus or Martial Saint.
A Divine Fetus or Martial Saint was the true backbone of a family’s legacy, a treasure so deeply guarded that they would never reveal themselves easily.
So when he learned that Huang Jianjiu aimed to slay some members of the Su clan…
Li Che figured it was nothing more than a death march.
A gentle breeze caressed the air.
It stirred the hem of Huang Jianjiu’s and Li Che’s garments, sending them fluttering.
Huang Jianjiu, carrying his yellow pearwood sword case, fondly caressed the liquor gourd marked with sword scars in his hand as he gazed at the bright moon, his eyes filled with complexity.
“Ogre…”
“Do you know just how beautiful that very first moonbeam is when you first encounter it in life?”
Huang Jianjiu murmured softly.
“When you’re at your lowest, when everyone sneers and calls you a loser…”
“There’s a moonbeam that shines down and fills you with confidence and conviction…”
“That moment of moonlight becomes etched in your memory forever.”
His voice was barely a whisper.
Li Che adjusted his Ogre Mask, pressing it down firmly.
He was well aware of Huang Jianjiu’s background, having heard some details from Elder Jiao Shaoqiu.
In the past, Huang Jianjiu’s innate talent was mediocre, his mind sluggish, languishing at the bottom of the outer ranks of Qianyuan Divine Sect.
Back then, a brilliant and extraordinary female disciple had stepped forward, accompanying Huang Jianjiu in his cultivation and trials…
Helping him gradually recognize his own latent talent.
Together, they advanced into the inner ranks as disciples.
But…
That gifted young woman eventually seemed to have been taken into the Su Family fold.
Huang Jianjiu had his past, but Li Che cared little to delve into the details.
“Very well.”
Li Che rose to his feet; his towering, imposing figure was swathed in swirling crimson mists. Every inch of his robust frame resembled hardened steel, pulsing with resonant rumblings.
“The Su Family surely houses both Martial Saints and Divine Fetuses—can you really handle that?”
Li Che’s five fingers spread out as he pressed the Cute Cow Mask against his face, his voice gravelly as stone.
Huang Jianjiu clutched his liquor gourd and glanced at Li Che, smiling, “Exactly…”
“They must feel our pain.”
“Su Family’s head, Su Wenxi, is at the Martial Saint’s second level—tapped into the human elixir realm.”
“Then there’s Su Family’s half-saint Su Daoling with his Divine Talisman prowess… a Divine Fetus at the pinnacle of transformation, with his heart, lungs, and kidneys refined.”
“These are the openly recognized Martial Saint and Divine Fetus experts of the Su Family…”
Huang Jianjiu lifted his liquor gourd and took a quick swig.
His throat churned as though he intended to savor the twenty-year-old wine that had long steeped with youthful passion.
“In these twenty years, I’ve been investigating the Su Family. Beyond their two public figures, the true treasure lies in the previous generation—the old master, Su Lei Ba, Su Wenxi’s father, a mighty presence at the second Martial Saint stage, ruling over his Qi Sea.”
At these words, Li Che’s gaze narrowed slightly.
Indeed, the foundation of such a millennia-old clan far exceeded his expectations.
They boasted not one, but two Martial Saints and a Divine Fetus in reserve!
Even Qianyuan Divine Sect had only six in total when combining their Martial Saints and Divine Fetuses!
The inner three elders, along with the Sect Master, and then the Ridge Master of Shendiao Ridge, Gongshu Jingjun, and the venerable Tang Xiejia…
Plus the uniquely poised Sect Master’s Wife Xuan Qisha, who could also be counted as a Divine Fetus.
But the Su Family was different—it was a family force!
Their legacy was astonishing.
The Zhou, Yun, and Zhong families, all millennia-old clans of Daocheng, were no match for the Su Family!
Li Che exhaled slowly, his massive frame tense with pulsing blue veins: “Now that you know the Su Family’s foundation, why march to your death?”
Huang Jianjiu burst into raucous laughter.
He exuded a dishevelled, irreverent air.
“So what?”
“We’re all doomed anyway.”
Huang Jianjiu narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Che.
“Ogre, I’ve sworn allegiance to the Corpse God Sect and borrowed their power…”
“I’m sure I won’t live much longer.”
“Even if the Underworld doesn’t come for me, my time is almost up…”
“The Su Family is nothing special, and neither is the Corpse God Sect! Let them tear each other apart.”
“And I? I’m nothing more than a meat bun!”
“Hahahaha…”
“Let’s go.”
Huang Jianjiu laughed heartily.
His gaze fell on the Boss’s Wife, sound asleep atop a table, a trace of melancholy in his eyes.
“If there’s a next life…”
“I’ll drink your wine again.”
……
……
The Su Family, the premier clan of Daocheng.
They oversaw many bizarre temples; among them the Six-Department Bizarre Temple of Daocheng numbered ten, of which the Su Family controlled two.
One was called [Prison Lotus – Snorting, Chaotic Soul, Divine General Bizarre Temple].
The other was called [Prison Lotus – Guffawing, Earth-Shaking Divine General Bizarre Temple].
These two temples were highly prized by the Su Family, having nurtured countless divine warriors over the millennia.
The half-saint Su Daoling held court at the [Prison Lotus – Snorting, Chaotic Soul, Divine General Bizarre Temple], while the hidden patriarch, Su Lei Ba, presided over the [Prison Lotus – Guffawing, Earth-Shaking Divine General Bizarre Temple].
The two temples seemed bound by an uncanny connection. So close were they that the forms of their temple spirits could even combine in a unique union.
When joined, their combined divine might rivaled that of a Five Elder-level temple spirit.
Thus, although the Su Family did not possess a Five Elder-level temple, with the divine aura of these two temple gods, they could match that level’s awe.
The two temples were not far from the Su Family residence; dense eerie mists shrouded the area, keeping the bizarre sanctuary contained.
The half-saint Su Daoling slowly opened his eyes and stepped out from the eaves of the building.
His wide sleeves billowed as he admired the radiant moonlight.
But his brows furrowed: “Why tonight… do I feel such a foreboding unease?”
He shook his head, his gaze falling on the [Snorting Chaotic Soul Divine Temple] before him.
That unease likely emanated from the bizarre temple.
Suddenly,
The half-saint’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the mist within the temple being drawn upward by some unseen force, surging like a tidal wave!
Su Daoling’s brows furrowed, his fingers twitching as scroll after scroll of mysterious talismans flew about in the wind.
He slowly turned and looked into the distance.
There, somewhere, a figure had materialized.
The figure was slender, clad in a black robe and wearing a mask smooth as if adorned with tiny specks of starlight.
It reflected the lunar glow of the Heavenly Dome, twinkling like the stars above.
“Lie Shen Pavilion?”
“The Star Killer?”
Awe marked the aged face of Su Daoling.
Who was it?
Could it be that a killer from Lie Shen Pavilion had been employed?
Yet this Star Killer’s bold appearance suggested he wasn’t there to kill him…
Rather, he seemed intent on stopping him.
Stopping…
Su Daoling’s eyes flashed as he glared toward the Su Family residence, his pupils constricting.
The Star Killer from Lie Shen Pavilion stretched languidly and chuckled, “After decades of scrimping on drinks, all just to earn a chance for me, the Star Killer of Lie Shen Pavilion to strike…”
“You know I never turn down a job, especially when the other party shows such sincerity…”
Su Daoling’s face hardened.
His fingers clenched as talismans shot upward, bursting with mysterious brilliance and energy.
However,
A terrifying slice of blade light swept in like an overwhelming tide, all-pervasive as the moonlight!
The air tore apart as brilliant talisman light was instantly obliterated!
The Star Killer gripped his long blade diagonally, blocking in front of Su Daoling.
His mocking laughter lingered.
“Money talks, Elder Su, please understand.”
……
……
[Prison Lotus – Guffawing, Earth-Shaking Divine General Bizarre Temple]
The temple stood, ancient and profound.
Its black tiles caught the moonlight, spreading a gauzy, glowing sheen.
The Su Family’s residence was nestled among nearby pavilions.
The elderly patriarch, Su Lei Ba, seemed to sense the burst of energy from the [Snorting Chaotic Soul Divine Temple] and slowly opened his eyes.
“Lie Shen Pavilion?”
Old Su Lei Ba looked with a lifeless air, as if wrapped in the stench of decay, almost dissolving into the earth.
“To act so brazenly against our Su Family’s half-saint? That doesn’t seem like the style of a Lie Shen Pavilion assassin…”
Su Lei Ba furrowed his brow.
Gripping his dragon-headed cane tightly, he stamped it to the ground, ready to dash out of the pavilion to aid Su Daoling.
After all, a half-saint was too crucial for the Su Family to lose.
Yet as soon as he swung his cane, Su Lei Ba’s body faltered; he slowly lifted his gaze to the inky-black roof above.
His murky eyes seemed to pierce through the tiled roof.
And he beheld a figure standing atop the roof.
Clad in scholarly robes with a flowing beard, holding an open book as if lost in deep study—a solitary figure detached from the world.
Old Su Lei Ba’s eyes narrowed.
“The inner elder of Qianyuan Divine Sect…”
“Fang Han Shu?”
……
……
Huang Jianjiu, in his ragged, billowing robe with his thick yellow pearwood sword case, landed on Long Street.
The cool breeze under the clear moon, the silver light caressed him like gauze.
It seemed as if he himself radiated a soft, shimmering glow.
Li Che, still masked with the Ogre Mask and activating the Sleeping Dragon Elephant, melded into the darkness, as if he had vanished between heaven and earth.
At that moment, the Cosmic Chessboard shrank rapidly above Huang Jianjiu’s head, severing his qi.
Huang Jianjiu’s steps faltered.
Sensing the twisted energy of the surrounding field, a glimmer of brightness flashed in his eyes.
His aura seemed to vanish into the void between heaven and earth.
A faint smile curved his lips; it was as if he had experienced the Underworld’s service.
Alas, having sworn to the Corpse God Sect and marked with the Undead Curse Seal, there was no escape—joining the Underworld was out of the question.
Clenching his five fingers around the broken iron sword at his waist—a sword given by his childhood friend, his first sword in life.
Grasping that sword changed his life forever.
Holding a plain iron sword, burdened with a massive sword case and a liquor gourd scarred with countless sword marks at his waist.
His steps were light and measured.
Above in the sky, countless stars shone forth; as clouds parted, it was as though a cool breeze brushed away the mists.
The once pitch-black night was now scattered with starlight and moonbeams, adding a touch of brilliance.
From the Drunken Goose Tavern to the Su Family residence, a long stretch of fifteen li.
Though Huang Jianjiu appeared to stroll leisurely, his pace was rapid; every step sent out flashes of silver sword light, blooming like lotus flowers at his feet.
Li Che trailed unseen in the darkness.
Curiosity stirred within him.
What did Huang Jianjiu intend to do?
Compared to the Su Family, his solitary strength was truly meager.
The Su Family was a colossal force—a true giant with two Martial Saints and a Divine Fetus.
How could Huang Jianjiu stand against them alone?
Yet if it came to it, Li Che wouldn’t mind intervening.
After all, he harbored no affection for the Su Family; with Huang Jianjiu set on attacking them, they were now allies…
Taking action was inevitable.
After trudging fifteen li on foot.
Huang Jianjiu’s tattered robe whipped in the wind, his smooth black hair swirling wildly.
He halted and looked up at the grand, ornate main gate of the Su Family residence.
A three-thousand-year-old family, the estate sprawled like a small city within high walls; although the gate was magnificent, it exuded neither arrogance nor brutality.
Huang Jianjiu regarded the towering entrance with calm detachment.
Behind those high walls, it was as if countless withered, sorrowful eyes watched from afar.
So many once-brilliant women, locked inside those walls, had their talents drained, reduced to mere tools for the Su Family’s lineage.
Trapped forever in that confined prison.
Closing his eyes slightly, Huang Jianjiu’s delicate lips twitched.
He vividly recalled how Su Wuming, ranked third on the Authentic Transmission Ledger, had once led him into the Su Family courtyard.
They passed through one yard after another, witnessing emaciated, ancient women locked away.
His heart sank under the weight of that sight.
At last, under Su Wuming’s guidance, he saw his long-cherished childhood friend—a maiden long faded, aged and withered, leaning against a balustrade, her eyes devoid of their former sparkle.
The old man, upon seeing Huang Jianjiu, appeared startled.
Covering his face with both hands, he let out a bloodcurdling, panicked scream.
“Go!”
“Get out of here!”
That scream… struck Huang Jianjiu’s heart like the sharpest sword in existence.
That scene…
Haunted Huang Jianjiu, shaking his resolve.
He admitted that Su Wuming had succeeded.
He had succeeded in shattering his inner peace.
And ignited in him a burning murderous intent.
Huang Jianjiu closed his eyes, then opened them wide again!
In the next instant, his eyes seemed to blaze with sword qi—a frigid, ruthless light akin to the cold gleam of the heavens!
Bang—!
The yellow pearwood sword case slammed forcefully onto the ground before him.
Cracks like spiderwebs rapidly expanded outward from his body, and fragments of stone appeared suspended as if caught by an unseen force.
Huang Jianjiu’s tattered robes billowed wildly as he raised his head, his black hair flying in disarray.
In the next moment, a palm struck the yellow pearwood sword case.
The case shuddered and, after a breath, exploded into countless fragments.
A sword suddenly shot out from within the broken case, smooth and gleaming.
Whoosh!
It was as if the silver moonlight itself had been cleaved in half by this blade.
The sword, pure white and upright, hovered before Huang Jianjiu.
In an instant, concentric circles of white sword qi radiated outward!
In the distance,
hidden in darkness, Li Che saw through the slits of his Ogre Mask
the sight of that immaculate white sword.
“What a magnificent blade!”
Just a glance made his eyes sting with pain, every hair on his body standing on end as if his blood had solidified.
At the Mud Pellet, flesh was torn apart.
A pair of Star Plucking Gaze eyes released brilliant golden light.
Infinite myriad details, peering into the true void!
Looking up,
one could see that levitating, white, handle-less sword—its aura reminiscent of a pure white swordsman whose form was both illusory and starkly real.
It was as if a celestial sword immortal had manifested a blade on earth.
Within it, Li Che felt a dense surge of…
“The power of the Temple Spirit!”
“From that Five Elder-level Lü Xuan Sword Immortal Bizarre Temple?”
Li Che’s eyes flowed with golden lightning, interlacing brilliantly.
He raised his fingers, and in that instant,
the Cosmic Chessboard soared upward, expanding fiercely in mid-air and completely enveloping the Su Family residence as well as Huang Jianjiu!
Huang Jianjiu’s hair flew wildly; his tattered robe flung back continuously.
“Hahahaha! Ogre, my thanks!”
The Cosmic Chessboard had isolated the qi, affording him more time!
Huang Jianjiu laughed heartily.
In the next moment, he fixated on the broken sword case which had revealed an immaculate white sword.
This was the sword he had nurtured for decades, and today… it emerged!
“Sword Immortal’s Strike…”
Huang Jianjiu suddenly stepped forward.
Boom—!!!
The earth buckled as countless flows of sword qi burst forth like a tidal surge, erupting from below and soaring into the skies!
Huang Jianjiu’s body was riddled with cuts as his tattered robe was immediately sliced to shreds by the sword qi.
His flesh bore fresh, deep gashes.
The power behind this strike…
Had already surpassed what even a Grandmaster could endure!
Huang Jianjiu could not withstand it!
Under the onslaught of the sword qi, his body would shatter into pieces.
But Huang Jianjiu had known this all along. Lifting his hand to his brow, in an instant, a pitch-black Undead Curse Seal suddenly manifested!
A torrent of deathly and corpse qi surged forth, all absorbed into his body.
Suddenly, his flesh burst with the sheen of black jade.
Across his corpse-like form, innumerable curse marks snaked and piled up, as if a cursed blossom had bloomed!
It was the crystallization of utter corpse aura and deathly qi!
The black jade flower bloomed—a half-divine body!
In the distance,
Li Che’s eyes flashed with dancing golden electricity.
So that was it.
Huang Jianjiu… planned to utilize the Corpse God Sect’s half-divine corpse body bestowed by the Undead Curse Seal, harnessing its immense deathly and corpse qi to transform his body into that of a half-divine being!
Even if only temporarily, it would allow him to endure that strike!
It bridged the gap between Grandmaster and Martial Saint—achieving Martial Saint power!
Buzzzzz—!!!
Earlier, a magnificent sword chant had erupted at the Su Family residence!
The overwhelming sword light, dazzling as the sun, spread its brilliance for dozens of li, each surge laced with flowing brilliance!
“Su Family!”
“Today, Huang Jianjiu has come to kill dogs!”
……
……
Inside the main hall of the Su Family residence.
Su Family head, Su Wenxi, was busy managing affairs—the death of the great Divine Master Su Huai Ming had severely disrupted the Su Family’s divine business.
He had to minimize the fallout; after all, before his death, Su Huai Ming had secured numerous commissions. Now he would have to pay handsomely for replacements from other divine masters to appease the Su Family’s clients.
Suddenly,
“Su Family!”
“Today, Huang Jianjiu has come to kill dogs!!!”
A wave of voices crashed like a tide, reverberating thunderously as the air rippled with staggering energy, summoning fierce winds.
Su Wenxi’s face darkened; he then felt an overwhelming surge of sword intent and qi!
“Who?!”
“Huang Jianjiu?!”
Anger flared on Su Wenxi’s face.
Bang!
With one decisive step, the entire residence trembled as a blinding wall of energy shattered forth. Rivers of blood roared like an enraged dragon!
In just an instant, the Su Family residence loomed overhead.
At the gate, Huang Jianjiu, enshrouded in deathly and corpse qi, gripped the terrifying white Sword Immortal’s Strike…
His majestic sword intent pierced the sky, rupturing the dense clouds and showering down brilliant moonlight!
“How dare you!”
“Looking for death?”
“Huang Jianjiu… do you really dare to cause trouble at our Su Family?!”
The enraged Su Wenxi, already burning with fury and frustration from a series of events, roared in anger—a voice like thunder erupted!
His voice, like a tidal wave, echoed around, yet it was mired by an invisible barrier, stifled completely.
Su Wenxi’s eyes narrowed dramatically.
He looked up sharply.
His eyes shone with golden brilliance as he saw a vast, invisible chessboard spanning the sky!
“This is…”
“The Underworld!”
“Huang Jianjiu, have you colluded with the Underworld?!”
Su Wenxi’s body trembled as his hair stood on end, and torrents of blood surged forth—his anger ignited anew.
The air exploded with violent reverberations, the visible ripples on the ground spreading like spiderwebs!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Inside the Su Family residence, wave after wave of colossal energy erupted wildly.
It emanated from the Su Family’s Grandmasters and Divine Perfect True Immortals.
“Huang Jianjiu?”
Su Wuming, ranked third on the Qianyuan Divine Sect’s Authentic Transmission Ledger, now soared upward from the Su Family courtyard.
He looked out at the approaching Huang Jianjiu—who wielded sword intent as powerful as the midday sun—and his face paled!
He was furious!
Huang Jianjiu had gone mad!
What was he planning exactly?
To launch a solo assault on our Su Family?
Where did he get the nerve?!
It was madness!
Had he truly given up on life?!
But Su Wuming soon smiled—it meant that if Huang Jianjiu died, then on the Authentic Transmission Ledger of Qianyuan Divine Sect…
Su Wuming would rise to second place!
Huang Jianjiu’s body now radiated a hue of black jade, his face turned as dark as night, his eyes blood-red.
This was the half-divine form—he had become less than human!
Normally, after becoming half-divine, the Undead Curse Seal would control his will, but Huang Jianjiu had suppressed that corpse god intent using the divine power of the Lü Xuan Sword Immortal Temple!
He had effectively free-ridden on the power of the Five Elder-level Undead Curse Seal without sacrificing his will!
Su Family head, Su Wenxi, was a Martial Saint whose martial intent overpowered everything!
His grip tightened, unleashing torrents of qi that surged like unstoppable cyclones!
Su Wenxi’s sharp insight quickly discerned Huang Jianjiu’s stratagem and audacity!
“Borrowing a half-divine corpse body from the Corpse God Sect to wield a Sword Immortal’s Strike and achieve Martial Saint power is indeed impressive… but that’s all it is.”
“With me here, who do you think you can kill?”
Su Wenxi snorted coldly as radiant light seemed to burst from his very being; the surging qi of heaven and earth roiled—truly a Martial Saint capable of harnessing cosmic power!
Then—Bang!
He stepped forward, and in that instant, countless waves of qi followed him, hurtling out with ferocious speed!
Rivers of blood and qi, like tidal waves overturning the heavens and earth, surged forth!
A single fist swirled the surrounding qi into vast, boundless torrents!
It crashed toward Huang Jianjiu, whose sword intent blazed like the midday sun!
That fist aimed to shatter the blade’s dazzling radiance!
That fist intended to crush this insolent wretch who dared challenge a Grandmaster’s very existence!
Huang Jianjiu’s dark hair flew; his bloodshot eyes narrowed as his fingers gripped the Sword Immortal’s Strike, pointing it distantly.
Suddenly,
Huang Jianjiu’s eyes fixed in concentration.
He beheld Su Wenxi, who shot forward like a cannonball, raising his head in a savage arc.
In a flash, it felt as though a vast, pitch-black city coalesced from a mirage and pounded down—a rolling mass of ink-like darkness!
Towering and awe-inspiring, its depths were unknowable and its heights unfathomable!
Boom—!!!
Before the astonished Su Wuming, the pride of the Su Family, the Martial Saint who cultivated his flesh core, Su Wenxi, had inexplicably vanished!
Huang Jianjiu was stunned.
The Undead Curse Seal on his brow throbbed as a wisp of sword qi, like a countdown, battled against the corpse god intent.
He had little time left.
In that moment, understanding dawned on him as he suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Thank you, Ogre!”
According to his plan, by employing the Corpse God Sect’s half-divine corpse body coupled with the power of the Sword Immortal Temple, he could use the Sword Immortal’s Strike in his hand to block Su Wenxi.
Then he would use that opportunity to break into the Su Family.
But now, Su Wenxi had been whisked away by mysterious means wrought by the Underworld…
Though he wasn’t sure how long Ogre could hold off that Martial Saint…
It was enough!
Huang Jianjiu…
With no Martial Saint standing in his way, he was like an unbridled, rampant stallion!
The Su Family lay open before him!
Huang Jianjiu laughed uproariously, his dark hair wild like a demon’s mane, his half-divine form pulsating violently as his fingers gripped the Sword Immortal’s Strike.
“Kill!”
In an instant—
With one sweeping strike!
It was like a tempest: the wind blotted out the light, as if a golden sun cut through the sky, subduing all in its path.
Even Su Wuming, still reeling from his sudden disappearance, could only shudder in horror.
Each hair on his body stood on end.
And then,
He felt his heart and neck grow cold at once!
It was as though his head had been severed three zhang into the air.
Seven-thousand Words – Seek Moon Votes, Recommend, and Follow. More updates tonight. Old Li is off to eat—stay tuned for more! Keep reading, and Old Li will continue with more explosive updates!