Chapter 58: Secretly Practicing Martial Arts

For the past few months, Xie An had rarely looked in the mirror.

Reaching old age, he had grown accustomed to his appearance just being what it was, knowing that handsomeness had nothing to do with him anymore, and thus he rarely liked to look at his own reflection.

Yet today, upon closer inspection...

"Good heavens..."

Sixty percent of his hair had turned black.

Previously, it was a matter of searching for a few strands of black hair among a sea of white; now, it was a matter of searching for white strands among a mass of black.

Hair was truly of paramount importance to a person's appearance. Once the hair turned black, an aura of vitality instantly rushed toward the viewer. With a crown of white hair, no matter how tender and youthful the skin on one's face might be, one would still merely be labeled as having "the hair of a crane and the face of a child."

Aside from his hair, seventy or eighty percent of the wrinkles on his face had also been smoothed away.

Even his once slightly dry lips had regained much of their full, rosy redness. His previously somewhat sagging eye sockets had firmed up considerably.

Had he not looked closely, Xie An would hardly have recognized the fellow in the mirror.

Fearing it might be an illusion, Xie An reached out and pinched his own cheek.

Full and elastic.

Though not quite to the point where the skin could be broken by a mere breath, it genuinely possessed a firm, solid substance.

Previously, although Xie An's wrinkles and white hair had improved somewhat, his aura remained perpetually shrouded in the gloom of twilight. Now, however, an authentic vigor and youthful energy were welling up from within him.

Xie An felt that he was growing further and further away from the title of "old man."

"If one day I could return to the appearance of a youth... that truly would be interesting."

Hiss!

Xie An drew in a sharp breath.

A youth...

That was a word he had almost forgotten in the long river of time.

He only vaguely remembered that when he had first crossed over into this world at the age of twenty... a few married women had indeed called him "young master" or "young lad."

Ever since then, words related to youth had become entirely disconnected from him.

Now, hearing the word "youth" once more felt like an experience spanning lifetimes.

"Although this longevity destiny does not bestow martial arts prowess, it is truly miraculous. Continuing to practice the longevity cultivation technique will bring about continuous improvement. However, reversing time to become a child again is no easy feat."

They say flowers may bloom again, but a person can never be young twice.

Who didn't harbor the dream of youth?

Though Xie An's mindset was no longer young, if his physical appearance could return to that of his youth, it would be enough to set his blood boiling.

He indulged in wishful thinking for quite a while before finally stopping.

"The pig-iron heavy saber forged by Liang Xiang is ready; I'll go fetch it. With that heavy saber, the power of my Floating Sun Saber Technique will increase at least severalfold."

***

As early as last night, Liang Zhi had reported that the saber was ready to be collected at any time.

Now that Xie An's single-arm strength had reached a thousand catties, he had long felt that the broadsword issued by the branch hall was far too light to unleash his true strength. Furthermore, when he had cleaved that celestial treasure box last time, it had chipped and was now completely unusable. It needed to be sent off for repairs...

A heavy saber was a matter of utmost urgency.

Xie An quickly arrived at Liang Xiang's blacksmith shop.

"Shopkeeper Liang, I've come to collect my saber."

Liang Xiang, who was hammering a piece of iron on the anvil, immediately dropped his work upon seeing Xie An. "Please wait a moment, Second Deacon; this humble servant will fetch it for you right away."

News of Xie An's promotion to Second Deacon had long since spread throughout the black market and the branch hall. Everyone now respectfully addressed him as Second Deacon without needing to worry about whether Zhang Lin would be displeased.

After all, this was an official appointment by the Tiger-Wolf Gate.

Soon, Liang Xiang walked out holding a large saber with both hands and handed it to Xie An. "Have a feel. The blade itself weighs forty catties, and with the scabbard and hilt, it totals forty-three catties."

"Let me try."

Xie An took it and abruptly drew the blade from its scabbard, instantly producing a resonant, metallic hum.

It was heavy.

Only after exerting a moderate amount of force did Xie An feel at ease with it.

As the blade was completely drawn, Xie An finally beheld its full appearance.

The silver luster was dazzling, catching the early morning sunlight and shining brilliantly with a chilling, formidable sharpness.

The blade was two inches wide and four feet long, with a spine about half an inch thick. The rear half of the blade was straight, while the front half curved upward slightly, ending in a razor-sharp point.

It matched Xie An's previously provided specifications completely, and was even somewhat better than he had anticipated.

Swish! Swish!

Without hesitation, Xie An immediately swung it a few times.

In Xie An's hands, the heavy saber did not feel burdensome at all; instead, his strength found a natural outlet, blending with the weapon as a single entity, carrying a distinct sensation of commanding it as effortlessly as one's own arm.

As the long saber cleaved through the air, it whipped up gusts of wind around the entire blacksmith shop, laden with an intimidating killing intent. Liang Xiang instinctively took several steps backward; even so, he still felt an intensely strong deterrent force and was utterly shocked in his heart:

This was a forty-catty heavy saber! Even martial artists who had just stepped into the Flesh-Refining Realm would struggle to wield it, let alone handle it with such ease as Xie An?

A martial artist of the Flesh-Refining Realm...

As far as Liang Xiang understood, throughout the entire White Feather Hall... there were very few martial artists who had reached the Flesh-Refining Realm.

This Second Deacon... was truly god-like in his valor!

Xie An was naturally unaware of the thoughts churning in Liang Xiang's mind. At this moment, he was completely immersed in the sheer pleasure of wielding the blade.

The saber previously issued by the branch hall had been far too light; it always felt like holding a plastic sword... no different from a toy.

This heavy saber, however, was just right.

Every chop, slash, lift, and thrust was charged with sufficient weight and imposing momentum, maximizing Xie An's advantage in strength.

***

In saber techniques, the most crucial element was actually force.

After executing half a set of the Floating Sun Saber Technique, Xie An had completely adapted to the heavy saber and finally sheathed it.

"A fine saber! Shopkeeper Liang, exceptional craftsmanship."

Xie An praised excitedly, only then noticing the exquisite scabbard.

When he originally ordered the heavy saber, Xie An had never mentioned making a scabbard; clearly, Liang Xiang had done so as a deliberate favor to him.

Calculating the total cost, Liang Xiang would likely take a loss on this.

After all, the scabbard was crafted from fine metals and animal hide, costing no less than several taels of silver to produce.

Xie An had no wish to be in anyone's debt, so he took out a small ten-tael silver ingot and held it out. "You went to a lot of trouble for this scabbard, Shopkeeper Liang, and I like it very much. Please accept this silver."

Liang Xiang beamed with delight and declined, saying, "When the Second Deacon previously commissioned this heavy saber from me, many nearby fellows heard of it and came to buy weapons from me as well, which has already earned me quite a tidy sum. If I were to accept your money on top of that, I would truly lack all manners."

Seeing that Liang Xiang was firm in his refusal, Xie An weighed the dwindling silver remaining in his pouch, took the money back, and departed after expressing his thanks.

Although Xie An had been promoted, doubling his monthly stipend, and still held the six hundred taels of "huge fortune" previously given to him by Li Shaoyun, his expenditure on medicinal supplements over the past three months had been astonishingly high.

The exclusive medicinal recipes for the longevity cultivation technique were manageable, but the Tiger-Skin Primordial Soup was simply too expensive. At twenty taels per dose, Xie An had consumed twenty to thirty doses of Tiger-Skin Primordial Soup over the past three months.

By now, his pockets were nearly scraping the bottom.

As he reached the entrance of the courtyard, he saw a group of his subordinates up ahead causing a commotion; it appeared that Wang Xiang was leading a mob to beat up a youth.

In a place like the Black Blood Ridge, subordinates fighting and brawling was a common occurrence. Xie An was long accustomed to it and had no intention of intervening, merely tossing a casual remark to Wang Xiang: "Keep it reasonable; don't cripple the person."

Terrified that Xie An might misunderstand, Wang Xiang immediately stepped forward to explain the reason, "Second Deacon, not only has this fellow been shirking his duties, but he also stole my martial arts manual and has been practicing it in secret. This is a grave taboo. According to the rules of our Tiger-Wolf Gate, this must be reported to the Hall Master and brought before the Hall of Discipline."

Slacking off was a minor offense, but stealing the martial arts of the Tiger-Wolf Gate was indeed a major taboo. If they wanted to make a federal case out of it, heads would genuinely roll.

At this thought, Xie An walked over to take a look.

It turned out to be Li Shaoyun.

Xie An's pupils constricted.

Having been entirely absorbed in martial arts training over the past few months, he had completely forgotten about Li Shaoyun's situation...

Judging by the present circumstances, this young master from a wealthy family clearly lacked the ability to survive in such a brutal place as the black market. He was, after all, a flower raised in a greenhouse.

He just hadn't expected Li Shaoyun to reach his breaking point and resort to stealing martial arts to practice.

This was no longer a trivial matter.

After all, Li Shaoyun was still his subordinate. If this wasn't handled properly and someone reported it to the Hall of Discipline, Xie An himself might receive a black mark on his record, jeopardizing his future prospects.

Feeling he could no longer stand by and watch, Xie An immediately shouted for Wang Xiang and the others to stop, ordering, "Have Liang Zhi bring him to my courtyard. Wang Xiang, you come too."