Chapter 151: Preparing to Go Home

It was impossible to tell whether Yui Furukawa ever needed to sleep. In any case, Jiang Xiaotian had not seen her these past few days, but that familiar aura lingered constantly around him, signaling her presence.

According to her, she had rushed back to the East to bring her mother over. Where she had hidden her was unknown, but once inside Huaxia, it would be difficult for the people of the East to cause trouble again.

Besides, she had now thrown her lot in with Jiang Xiaotian. The Ito family could easily find out about this upon investigation. To deal with someone capable of slaying a Divine Realm master, the Ito family would need to deploy at least two Divine Realm experts or more to ensure success. However, since their entire family only possessed two such masters, they likely could not bear the risk of sending both away.

After all, this was not the East; if they were careless and fell here, the Ito family would simply be finished.

Jiang Xiaotian spent his days attending school and his nights practicing cultivation, living a rather carefree life. There were no troublesome matters at school either. Hiroshi Ito had long since dropped out and fled back home, leaving only Sakura Haneda to occasionally come and ask him a question or two.

She also guessed that Hiroshi Ito's return to the East was related to Jiang Xiaotian, and if she ever found out that a Black Samurai had died, she would probably be scared out of her wits and run home as well.

Earlier, because rumors spread that he had slain a Divine Realm master, quite a few people had come to spy on Jiang Xiaotian. Fortunately, driving them away was Yui Furukawa's specialty. Virtually no one could get within ten meters of Jiang Xiaotian before she scared them off.

No matter what, she was a standard Inner Realm practitioner and a minor to boot.

This was the reason Jiang Xiaotian was willing to groom her. Hiroshi Ito had actually considered such a young age to be a hindrance—good grief, Yui Furukawa was a true genius! If Jiang Xiaotian had not been blessed with spiritual energy, he probably wouldn't even have been a match for her!

Over the past few days, Yui Furukawa's comprehension of the Lightning Flash had not progressed much. This was not only because Divine Realm martial arts also required the materialization of vital energy, but also because she used a sabre, whereas this technique was best executed with a sword. Still, it didn't affect much; if she could succeed, the deterrence of a sabre would be far greater than that of a sword.

Before he knew it, another half month had passed. Jiang Xiaotian had already memorized the first stage of the Flowing Flower Style until he could recite it backward, and he had also gained a slight handle on breath control.

He had to admit that this was indeed a miraculous ancient martial art. Even if you failed to master it from beginning to end, simply comprehending a shred of breathing technique was still a form of improvement. One had to hand it to the people of the East—they really had a knack for conjuring up all these fancy, esoteric things!

Whether it was because of the Flowing Flower Style or not, previously, whenever Yui Furukawa concealed herself, Jiang Xiaotian found it extremely difficult to pinpoint her location. Now, however, he could vaguely sense the direction she was in.

Seeing his rapid progress, Ling'er was very satisfied. "Not bad, not bad. A bit more impressive than I expected. Practice diligently while I'm away, and I'll test you when I return!"

At the mention of this, Jiang Xiaotian hurriedly checked the calendar and realized that there were only a few days left before the Lunar New Year. Ling'er seemed to be preparing to set off for her ancestral home.

Though he felt a pang of reluctance, there was nothing to be done about it.

Ling'er seemed to recall something suddenly. "By the way, aren't you planning to accompany that girl, Qin Lulu? Her family is from the North, so you must remember to keep a low profile, understand?"

Jiang Xiaotian nodded. He understood; he understood better than anyone.

The martial arts circles in the North were considerably stronger than those in the South, but since he was already invincible below the Divine Realm, he had nothing to fear from anyone.

Besides, he was just going to celebrate the New Year, not to wage war. Accompanied by Qin Lulu for just a few days, there was nothing to worry about.

Hearing this, Ling'er figured she was being overly anxious, but Jiang Xiaotian's luck was truly atrocious—he managed to stir up a fight wherever he went. If she wasn't by his side, she simply couldn't put her mind at rest.

Once Jiang Xiaotian had gone to rest, Ling'er called Yui Furukawa out and gave her a few parting instructions.

Although in Yui Furukawa's eyes, Jiang Xiaotian held higher priority, she could still tell who was really in charge here.

Furthermore, she couldn't see through Ling'er, only feeling that the latter must be a young lady of noble birth with formidable strength. Why on earth would she stay in such a small place like Beihai?

A short while ago, Jiang Xiaotian had voice-chatted with Ouyang Ziqian almost every night, but recently, the girl had stopped calling because she was simply too busy.

The Ouyang family was now the overlord of Dragon City, and as their public spokesperson, Ouyang Ziqian had a mountain of matters to handle. With the New Year approaching, numerous preparations needed to be made, leaving her utterly devoid of free time.

With one less person to talk to, Jiang Xiaotian actually found himself growing bored. The Flowing Flower Style was tedious in its own right, so he once again thought of the swordsmanship Ling'er had taught him.

Returning to the courtyard, he shook the trunk of a tree, and immediately, leaves drifted slowly downward. Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he indeed felt a difference.

Previously, whenever this moment arrived, his heart would race, his breathing would quicken, and a trace of tension would grip him. But ever since he learned to regulate his breathing, all of this felt entirely normal, with nothing to be nervous about.

He attempted a strike, and sure enough, his success rate was much higher than before. Although he had grasped the trick, the technique itself was extremely difficult, so unless he became exceptionally proficient and thoroughly mastered it, achieving a hundred percent success rate was simply impossible.

Just at that moment, however, Yui Furukawa stepped out from the darkness.

Without a word, she simply imitated Jiang Xiaotian, using her finger to intercept a falling leaf and slicing it neatly into two halves with a gentle swipe.

Whenever she made a move, she succeeded. Jiang Xiaotian was left completely dumbfounded.

"You're this good?" he asked in astonishment.

Praised by him, Yui Furukawa's face flushed red once more. She shook her head self-consciously. "N—no, it's not that I'm good! You're just too fixated on one outcome. You want so badly to cut it, so you always fail. It's just like an enemy—if you make it obvious that you want to kill them, they will definitely dodge. Try doing it like me: try to catch it first, and only slice it the moment you catch it. Maybe it will turn out differently? Also, you always pay attention to all the leaves at once. If you fix your eyes on just one single leaf each time, it will go much better," she said.

Jiang Xiaotian stood in a daze for a moment, feeling as though he understood yet didn't quite understand, but he grasped the underlying logic.

This time, he took a deep breath and stared fixedly at a single leaf, rather than scanning in all directions as he had done before.

Having selected a leaf that was drifting downward, Jiang Xiaotian quickly reached out—not to slice it immediately, but with the gentle intent of catching it.

Yet the instant before his fingers brushed against it, he suddenly exerted force. A crisp snap echoed through the air, and the leaf was cleanly cut into two even halves with absolute ease!

Jiang Xiaotian froze, and then was overcome with wild joy!

He hurriedly practiced the same maneuver again, and every single attempt succeeded without a single failure!

As expected, this technique had its secret methods. Trying to force it simply wouldn't work; only by figuring out the trick could one genuinely improve the success rate!

Suddenly, he felt a profound sense of enlightenment, and even gained entirely new insights into the Lightning Flash!

Swordsmanship was interconnected; once you thoroughly understood one technique, you might suddenly develop completely different perspectives on others.

That entire day, Jiang Xiaotian spent his time slicing leaves, practically shaving half the foliage off the large tree.

Early the next morning, Ling'er began packing her luggage.

All her bright, youthful outfits, along with her short skirts and the like, were folded up and tucked away into the closet. What she stuffed into her suitcase were almost exclusively long dresses, long trousers, and lavish, opulent garments fit only for nobility of ancient times.

Clearly, if she returned dressed as she usually did, her imperial father would practically scold her to death.

At home, Ling'er remained an obedient daughter, and at the mere thought of this, she couldn't help sighing heavily. "I'm going to have to spend a whole week without playing with my phone, ugh! I won't even be able to watch TV dramas! When are the Dragons ever going to modernize a bit?"

Though she grumbled incessantly, having not returned home for so long, Ling'er genuinely missed her family.

Jiang Xiaotian helped her pack and tidied up the room as well. Afterward, he reminded her, "Big Sister Ling'er, should you take off the bracelet? Won't people misunderstand when you bring that back?"

Both pieces of jewelry on her wrist had been bought by Jiang Xiaotian.

"It's fine, no need. This is something I like myself. Who can say anything if I want to wear it?" Ling'er waved her small fist defiantly.

Jiang Xiaotian smiled and said no more.

In truth, Ling'er being followed by him was the real danger. Returning home for the New Year now and staying by her imperial father's side was safer than anywhere else.

Just as the two of them were chatting, Yui Furukawa suddenly slipped inside. With a hesitant expression and panic in her eyes, she pointed outward.

A little girl was sitting atop the courtyard wall, sucking on a lollipop and dangling her legs as she stared at everyone inside the room.

She radiated no aura whatsoever, yet she had scared Yui Furukawa out of her wits.

Aside from Xuan'er, no one else possessed such an ability.

"I've come to take my older sister home, Jiang Xiaotian. You'd better pay me a delivery fee!"