Chapter 47: Quiet Flames, Fierce Resolve

Inside the room, the lights burned quietly as intermittent crackling sounds filled the air.

Li Che held his wife, Zhang Ya, close, momentarily stunned by her resolute words.

After a brief pause, Li Che offered a gentle smile and tousled his wife’s head.

“Train if you want to.”

“I’ll teach you.”

With her chin held high and lips pursed, Zhang Ya murmured, “Both XiXi and you practice martial arts. They say martial artists possess enduring vitality and often enjoy lifespans far beyond those of ordinary people…”

Li Che was taken aback, his gaze growing even softer.

He understood that her worry came from genuine care.

Confident that he would one day reach great heights—and recognizing XiXi’s extraordinary talent—he believed their future held limitless possibility…

Yet, for his wife to keep pace with them was a daunting challenge.

“But I have a Dao Fruit now… eventually, I’ll find a way.”

Li Che smiled as he gently stroked his wife’s glossy black hair.

Looking down at her, he whispered, “Xiao Ya, rest assured; our family will remain safe and sound for the long haul.”

There’s nothing better than a loving wife, children, and a warm home.

He only wished for his small family’s enduring peace.

The night had grown deep.

After the clamor subsided, only a deathly silence remained.

After performing a bone assessment on Zhang Ya, who was set on learning martial arts, she drifted into a deep, weary sleep.

Li Che, however, felt as lively as a tiger; his energy was unmistakable.

Even though the major battle had just taken place, it hardly affected him.

Retrieving the thumb-sized Three-Headed Six-Armed Wrathful Spirit Infant Statue, Li Che squinted under the lamplight as he surveyed it briefly.

In an instant, a billowing jade-white mist erupted from his palm, transforming his hand as if it were made of glazed crystal.

Divine power was taking shape – Immortal Craft: Qianxi Hand!

In that moment, Li Che sensed the fervent, wrathful divine essence within the statue being ravenously absorbed by his palm. In just one or two breaths, the statue crumbled to ash.

Crimson tendrils meandered along his arm as he attuned himself to that divine force, his expression growing subtly grave.

“I wonder what sort of divine essence this is… Perhaps it was left behind by a Lingying Sect cultivator as a deadly move for Blood Exchange warriors. Too bad – it shattered before use.”

“This divine essence has, in the end, worked in my favor.”

Li Che’s Qianxi Hand soon dimmed as it sealed the divine essence within.

“The divine technique I acquired is ‘Chenkū Baigui Fenglei Arrow’—it should belong to the Si Family. I wonder if I can channel this essence to trigger it?”

It probably won’t work; the divine essence drawn from the Spirit Infant Wood Carving is pure wrath, entirely unrelated to grief.

He furrowed his brows; he knew too little about divine essences.

Since he didn’t understand, he decided not to waste further time on fruitless musings.

He planned to practice ‘Chenkū Baigui Fenglei Arrow’ whenever he had the chance.

After all, it was both an archery technique and a divine skill…

Clearly, Guo Zhan hadn’t cultivated enough divine essence to deploy it. Otherwise… tonight’s battle might have been even tougher.

His mind stirred.

【Dao Fruit: Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv2 5%)】

【Dao Fruit: Pure Heart (lv1 1%)】

“Killing four Lingying Sect Blood Exchange fighters only boosted the lv2 Dragon Elephant Vajra’s maturity by 5%… that’s rather meager.”

“Moreover, the divine essence accumulated within Pure Heart consumed 2% – leaving only 1% maturity. In one night, it’s back to square one. Such is the drawback of lacking a divine technique…”

“Divine Technique…”

Amidst the flickering lamplight,

Li Che’s yearning for a divine technique burned even more fiercely.

……

……

The next day, after a night of heavy snowfall, the storm came to an abrupt end.

Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop, which had been silent all night, suddenly buzzed with activity.

Crowds gathered outside Li Che’s courtyard, watching his family safe and sound—and the corpse of Zhao Chuanxiong, frozen stiff in the snow—each face etched with astonishment.

“Last night’s chaos—with explosive vitality burning like fire and so many Blood Exchange fighters striking—how did Master Li’s family remain unharmed?”

“What’s the matter? Did you wish for Li Shifu’s family to suffer?”

“It’s called destiny favoring the virtuous. As for the Lingying Sect… they’re getting bolder, even daring to openly snatch children from Xu Ji’s shop.”

“That Zhao Chuanxiong… is Officer Zhao really part of the Lingying Sect?”

……

Several veteran woodcarvers stepped out, gathering in Li Che’s courtyard and chattering incessantly.

Li Che maintained a gentle expression, understanding why they refrained from intervening last night—not everyone dares to act like a hero.

Facing the Lingying Sect’s Blood Exchange fighters, even if these masters intervened, they would only end up beaten to death.

Their fear was entirely understandable.

From afar, a figure in white dashed over, stirring a flurry of snow as swirling energies mingled, and soon arrived at the courtyard.

It was Xu You, returning from the Inner City.

“Are you alright?”

Xu You approached Li Che’s family.

Li Che shook his head. “Last night, with the Blood Exchange battle raging outside, I dared not show myself and stayed indoors with my wife and daughter. When I came out this morning, I found Zhao Chuanxiong’s corpse.”

Noticing XiXi clad in a padded jacket, Xu You’s stern demeanor melted away as he scooped her up. “It’s alright… XiXi, come here. Uncle Xu will hold you.”

“Last night, your family was merely a decoy. The true aim was to lure out that Ogre who has stirred up Feilei City.”

“That Zhao Chuanxiong was the bait—and now it seems the bait has been completely consumed…”

“In one corner of the courtyard lay another corpse and scattered remains. That Ogre was truly fierce, taking on four opponents single-handedly—eliminating them all while escaping unscathed. One might even think he had mastered meridian passage!”

“And those Lingying Sect Blood Exchange fighters… were mercilessly destroyed, leaving nothing but shredded remains.”

“The remaining corpse belonged to one of Si Mu Bai’s subordinates.”

“Si Family will surely provide an explanation for this matter.”

“A classic case of trying to rob a chicken only to lose the rice—that’s all on Si Mu Bai…”

Xu You sneered, “Last night, while on the move, Si Mu Bai seemed to have encountered a mysterious powerhouse behind the Ogre. His entire divine essence nearly shattered… with such severe injuries, it might take a year or two to restore it.”

“I’ll have someone check on Old Chen’s side—things should be back to normal by this afternoon…”

Xu You exchanged a few more words with Li Che, then took his leave; he had many matters to attend to.

Last night’s events may have seemed trivial to commoners, but for the elite families of the Inner City, they were extraordinary.

Whether it was the Ogre capable of slaying Blood Exchange warriors or the divine cultivator known as the Furious Crown Prince—whom Si Mu Bai nearly left half-dead…

…all of it sent shockwaves through the various factions.

Li Che held XiXi, watching Xu You vanish into the swirling snow, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He gently rubbed XiXi’s back, making the little girl giggle and squirm.

In reality, Li Che was channeling the divine essence stored within his own Pure Heart to harmonize XiXi’s energy, ensuring she stayed healthy and safe.

The divine essence of Pure Heart was pure and untainted, free of the intense emotional influences found in other essences—ideal for nurturing.

Li Che could tell from Xu You’s words that last night’s events were far more complex than they appeared.

“Wasn’t Si Mu Bai planning to handle it himself last night?”

“But he was thwarted by a divine cultivator and ended up almost beaten to death…”

“Did he mistakenly think someone was backing the Ogre?”

Li Che’s eyes flickered as a twinge of fear gripped his heart…

“If Si Mu Bai had acted personally…”

Even one divine cultivator would have thrown him off balance.

Thankfully, someone intervened; yet Li Che knew full well whether anyone was backing the Ogre.

The Ogre, however, was a lone wolf.

“Who’s helping me?”

Li Che felt a brief pang of confusion.

After all, that wasn’t his main concern.

What mattered most was the crucial information he had gleaned from Xu You.

Gazing at the endless swirling snow, Li Che’s eyes grew pensive.

“Si Mu Bai… is severely injured…”

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