Chapter 282: The Delayed Master-Giving Gift

"A master-giving ceremony gift?"

Li Rui raised an eyebrow, surprised.

A master-giving ceremony gift.

Usually, only a proper master receives one; he never expected a mere instructor like himself would be included.

What could he say?

The Marquis of Annan is magnanimous!

Xu Chuan explained:

"Brother Li, the Marquis has hired three instructors for the young marquis—another literary instructor and another martial instructor, both received master-giving gifts. You're farther away, so I was sent to deliver yours."

Tan Hu listened, utterly baffled.

Three instructors—one literary, one martial—then what does his elder brother teach?

It's not that there's nothing to teach.

Li Rui understood naturally.

He was a peasant, and in martial arts, he couldn't possibly match a proper military instructor or a grand sect elder; as for literature—he had indeed graduated from a proper university in his past life, but compared to a real literary instructor in classics and history, he was ten thousand miles behind.

The Marquis of Yuan wanted him to teach character.

Moreover, his position as instructor was itself an honor from the Marquis of Yuan, deliberately arranged to help erase the stain of his past as a stable hand.

It wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

He wasn't truly expected to teach the young marquis literature or martial arts.

Li Rui couldn't help but wonder what kind of master-giving gift the Marquis of Yuan had prepared for him.

The Marquis of Yuan ranks among the top ten in the realm, and is also the Military Sage of Yu State.

His gift would surely be extraordinary.

Xu Chuan pulled out a delicate small wooden box from his robe and handed it to Li Rui.

"Master Li, this is the master-giving gift prepared by the Marquis of Yuan."

He placed the small wooden box into Li Rui's hands.

Li Rui did not immediately open it—after all, it was a gift from a marquis; would he dare return it if he didn't like it?

Since he couldn't return it, better to accept it calmly.

Otherwise, if Xu Chuan noticed his hesitation and quietly reported it to the Marquis of Yuan, it would be an undeserved disaster.

Human hearts are unpredictable; one must be cautious.

After delivering the master-giving gift, Xu Chuan prepared to leave.

Li Rui quickly called out: "Brother Xu, Qinghe has some fine dishes, and it's nearly mealtime—why not stay for a simple meal?"

Xu Chuan shook his head:

"Thank you, Brother Li, for your kindness."

"My mission to Qinghe was not only to deliver your master-giving gift, but also to investigate intelligence for the Marquis in Wu State. The Marquis's matters cannot wait, so I must not linger."

Wu State.

Li Rui was surprised.

But since it was the Marquis of Yuan's mission, he had no grounds to detain him.

"Then when you return victorious, Brother Li will host a feast to celebrate your success."

"Good."

Xu Chuan smiled, bowed, and turned to leave.

Today's Xu Chuan was utterly unlike the man at the dock—no arrogance whatsoever, clearly the demeanor of a refined gentleman.

Li Rui had long grown accustomed to this.

On one hand, those at the dock were his rivals, so no courtesy was needed.

On the other, in Xu Chuan's eyes, none of them were his equals.

Naturally, no politeness was required.

This was a common flaw among prodigies of the great sects—they only showed kindness to those of equal standing.

Now Li Rui was a guest of the Marquis's household, even an instructor, his status higher than Xu Chuan's.

Moreover, Li Rui's achievements matched his own, perhaps even surpassed them.

Naturally, his attitude improved.

After seeing Xu Chuan off,

Li Rui turned his gaze to the small wooden box in his hand.

He didn't hide it from Tan Hu.

This was a gift from the Marquis of Yuan—who would dare steal it?

Besides, if you don't trust someone, don't employ them; if you employ them, trust them fully. Tan Hu was his confidant; hiding the box from him would only seem petty.

Tan Hu leaned in.

"Brother, what do you think the Marquis sent?"

Li Rui smiled lightly: "How would I know? Open it and see."

He slowly opened the small wooden box.

"This is..."

When they saw what was inside, both Li Rui and Tan Hu froze.

Qi.

Yes, just qi.

Not the expected spirit herb or elixir, but an entire box filled with blood-red vapor.

"What the hell is this?"

Tan Hu scratched his head—he'd never seen anything like it.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

Finally, he slowly uttered four words: "Hundred-Battle Killing Intent."

The qi inside the box matched the qi on his silver spear—exactly the Marquis of Yuan's Hundred-Battle Killing Intent.

Even a single thread had once stymied a Pre-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Now, a whole box!

Li Rui sucked in a sharp breath.

'A treasure!'

His eyes lit up.

The greatest use of Hundred-Battle Killing Intent is to forge one's foundation; for ordinary warriors, it merely enhances the killing power of martial techniques—though still a rare treasure, its effect pales beside spirit elixirs or divine weapons, and using it thus would be wasteful.

Its true purpose is to refine the foundations of prodigies.

Many prodigies advance too quickly, leaving their foundations unstable; with Hundred-Battle Killing Intent, such flaws can be eliminated.

'The Marquis of Yuan must have seen my problem, which is why he sent me this.'

Li Rui was overjoyed.

Indeed, before a top-ten powerhouse, one's true condition is laid bare at a glance.

After Li Rui explained, Tan Hu finally understood that the vapor inside the box was the Marquis of Yuan's killing intent.

He nearly dropped his jaw.

From Yunzhou City to Qinghe is a thousand li.

Even when Xue Regional Commander marched urgently, it took a full night; Xu Chuan certainly didn't travel that fast.

Conservatively, it would take at least two days.

Yet after two full days, not a single thread of the killing intent had dissipated—on the contrary, it seemed capable of lasting much longer.

Is this the depth of a top-ten powerhouse?

Tan Hu was so stunned because there was a well-known truth in the martial world:

True qi, once outside the body, dissipates.

Such long-lasting qi, as before them, Tan Hu had never heard of.

Li Rui too marveled at the Marquis of Yuan's skill.

Tan Hu stepped back.

Li Rui began attempting to refine himself using the Hundred-Battle Killing Intent.

He brought his nose close to the box; a thread of blood-red Hundred-Battle Killing Intent slipped through his nostrils into his body.

Instantly,

his eyes turned crimson, his breathing grew ragged.

Deafening battle cries filled his mind—he saw mountains of corpses, blood-soaked battle pyramids of bones, his entire body chilled.

It lasted a full quarter-hour.

Then, like a drowning man breaking the surface, Li Rui gasped for air.

Though he looked disheveled, his eyes burned bright.

'It works.'

He could clearly feel gaps deep within his body being sealed.

Hu.

Li Rui let out a long breath, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips, then rose and walked to the wooden shelf holding porcelain, placing his hand on it and pressing down.

The shelf slowly rotated.

He placed the Hundred Battles Killing Intent inside the secret chamber, then the chamber sealed shut again, the room returning to normal.

At his current state, he could absorb only a single thread of the Hundred Battles Killing Intent each day.

To take more would be disastrous.

He might be corrupted by the violent killing intent, ending up in qi deviation—far worse than any gain.

One must know when to stop.

"Master, I feel I'm different from the others."

Wang Zhao stammered.

Li Rui, gazing at Wang Zhao who had suddenly come to him, raised an eyebrow and asked: "Little Zhao, what makes you say that?"

Wang Zhao's expression turned grave.

"Master, I've realized—I can not only hear Da Hong and Xiao Hu speak, but I understand all the beasts too."

Please... collect 6... ... ooks....!

"I've checked the books. They say I'm the offspring of a beast and a human."

"Master, do you think my father—"

Li Rui cut him off quickly: "Stop. Stop right there."

"What trash book is this? Throw it away immediately."

Then he patted Wang Zhao's shoulder: "Little Zhao, you're actually a genius—a rare Beast-Taming Sacred Body."

Hearing Li Rui's words,

Wang Zhao's mouth dropped open.

Beast-Taming Sacred Body?!

"Beast-Taming" alone was extraordinary; adding "Sacred Body" made it even more astonishing.

'Am I a Sacred Body??'

"Master, are you lying to me?"

For the first time in his twenty-odd years, Wang Zhao doubted Li Rui.

Li Rui immediately frowned: "How could your master lie to you?"

"No, Master, that's not what I meant."

Wang Zhao instantly realized his mistake, waving his hands frantically—but his expression still betrayed his disbelief in being a Sacred Body.

Li Rui waved his hand: "Enough. Go on."

Watching Wang Zhao walk out of the room as if he'd lost his soul,

a faint smile appeared on Li Rui's lips.

The Beast-Taming Sacred Body didn't exist—it was a fabrication.

Just teaching according to the student's nature.

Unlike Liang He and Liu Tiezhu, Wang Zhao had always felt he was the weakest of the three disciples, lacking confidence—bad for martial cultivation.

So Li Rui simply invented a title for him.

"So it's come to this."

Li Rui wasn't the least surprised by Wang Zhao's change.

After all, Wang Zhao had received the Immortal Mystery Qi, perfectly inheriting the abilities of the Western Heaven Gate.

Understanding beast speech was inevitable.

'I could assign Little Zhao to the beast trade.'

He mused to himself.

Wu Country, Wu Bei City.

"A guest of Marquis Yuan?"

Dao Mo stared at the jade tablet engraved with "An Nan," surprised, then looked at the unfamiliar Yu man before him.

He had already heard that the Yu Province's Governor Yuan had become a Marquis.

His good brother Li Rui was a guest in that Marquis's household.

Thinking of Li Rui, his tone grew slightly more courteous: "Master Xu, what brings you south to Wu Country?"

Xu Chuan bowed:

"Master Dao, two villains who offended the Marquis have been spotted coming south into Wu Country. The Marquis has ordered me to find their whereabouts."

Dao Mo's eyebrows lifted slightly, his interest piqued:

"Villains?"

Anyone who could offend Marquis Yuan and still live couldn't be ordinary.

Who was Marquis Yuan?

Back when he was in Wu Country, he once chased a Earth Immortal-level great beast from the Ten Thousand Mountains all the way to the southern shore.

He returned with the beast's head in hand, hanging it on the city wall.

Xu Chuan didn't hide it: "Have you heard of the Black and White Twin Killers?"

Dao Mo's expression hardened.

He had once traveled through the martial world of Yu Country and knew many of its renowned masters.

Among them were the Black and White Twin Killers.

Rumor had it they were twins who later joined Blood Shadow Ancestor's ranks, committing countless atrocities—including wiping out an entire sect.

The Black and White Twin Killers had come to Wu Country?

That was no good news.

Wu Country's situation had just begun to stabilize; those two villains couldn't be allowed to stir up chaos here.

Xu Chuan: "This matter requires your help, Master Dao. The Marquis will surely repay you."

Dao Mo burst into laughter:

"If it's Marquis Yuan's matter, I'll give full cooperation—rest assured, Master Xu."

Hearing this,

Xu Chuan secretly exhaled in relief.

In Wu Country's territory, finding the Black and White Twin Killers alone, without the imperial court's aid, would be nearly impossible.

Dao Mo grinned and asked: "By the way, Master Xu, do you know Li Rui, Brother Li?"

Li Rui?

Xu Chuan hadn't expected Dao Mo to know Li Rui—he immediately nodded: "Of course I know him."

Hearing this, Dao Mo grew even happier:

"If you're Brother Li's friend, then you're my friend too, Brother Xu. Don't worry—I'll get this done for you."

Dao Mo's address for Xu Chuan had quietly shifted from "Master Xu" to "Brother Xu."

Xu Chuan was startled.

What immense influence.

He had just invoked Marquis Yuan's name, yet apparently, in Wu Country, Marquis Yuan's authority was less than Li Rui's.

He was momentarily thrown off guard.

He had underestimated the abilities of that Master Li.

"The Dragon-Elephant True Qi should reach Dragon-Elephant Power soon."

In the courtyard,

Li Rui practiced his blade. Each movement appeared slow, yet radiated chilling killing intent.

This was the effect of the Hundred Battles Killing Intent.

These past days, refining himself with the Hundred Battles Killing Intent had not only solidified his foundation but also granted him a glimpse of its true essence.

Just a single glimpse was enough to give him an edge in battle.

Those with weak wills would be paralyzed by a single glance.

His techniques had grown sharper.

Though he had struck many blows, the number of deaths he had caused still paled beside Yuan Dingting's blood-soaked record—but the Hundred Battles Killing Intent now compensated for his lack of killing aura.

As Li Rui was attuning himself to the killing intent,

Little White Dragon emerged from the room.

It had shrunk to the size of a snake; others assumed it was merely Li Rui's pet serpent.

Now, nourished by the Immortal Mystery Qi,

its power had nearly returned to its peak.

It had refused to leave.

Li Rui looked at Little White Dragon: "Little White, something wrong?"

Little White Dragon's face wore a human-like expression of worry.

Then it spoke:

"Big Brother, my father has come to Qinghe."

(End of Chapter)