Why do I have so many masters?

The young lady, upon hearing this, first returned a bow before speaking with a brimming smile:

"To bother you this late at night truly leaves my heart uneasy, I hope you can forgive me."

"I am Yu Wen."

"It's Yu as in 'sons return to their homes, which are just right for their families,' and Wen as in 'when clouds are patterned, they are called Wen.'"

Again, she raised her hand and pointed to the black-clad young man still clutching his neck, uncertain and fearful, and chuckled as she said:

"This reckless person is named Xuan Zhu, feel free to call him 'Monkey.'"

"His temperament is willful, just like a monkey jumping about in a mountain brook."

Wang Anfeng nodded, his expression calm, but inside he felt slightly surprised.

The young lady before him spoke with elegance befitting a lady of a great house, yet she was dressed in a martial artist's vigorous attire, and her brows exuded a valiant air that was no less than that of any man.

The war saber she held had nothing whatsoever to do with the ladies of great houses.

It was over three feet long, with the blade itself being over a foot, its handle capped by a large ring, wrapped twice in hemp rope— it was the Great Qin Army's and bandits' sole common preference.

The Great Qin Horse Saber.

And it had been used quite a bit.

Wang Anfeng withdrew his gaze from the frayed hemp rope on the saber's ring, as if he had a moment of realization, just as he heard the young lady continue with a smile:

"As for why we have come tonight... "

"You might not believe it, but the three of us were merely passing by, and upon seeing the recent addition to the Constellation Ranking List, the Fufeng Book Guardian, we were overjoyed. We had hoped to make friends, but who could have expected that Xuan Zhu here, would be so impetuous as to strike out directly..."

Shaking her head, Yu Wen showed a hint of apology on her face before bowing and continuing:

"Please be forgiving."

Wang Anfeng stepped aside to avoid the bow, shaking his head to indicate he didn't mind.

When Xuan Zhu had attacked him just prior, he had aimed only at the shoulder without a hint of killing intent.

If one judged by the outcome alone, it seemed rather that Xuan Zhu had taken several firm hits from Wang Anfeng and suffered light injuries, so Wang Anfeng currently bore little anger but his wariness had significantly increased.

Inside, he knew that this woman named Yu Wen certainly hadn't told the whole truth, wondering how many truths and lies were woven into her explanation just now.

As for being listed on the Constellation Ranking List, ever since he had defeated the Flying Cloud Swordsman in North Martial City, he had been prepared for such recognition; he just hadn't anticipated that his title would merely be the Fufeng Book Guardian.

Wasn't that the same as before he had made the list?

Who exactly had come up with it?

Wang Anfeng's thoughts slightly drifted for a moment, but he quickly returned to the present. Judging by the current situation, the three individuals before him bore him no ill will, but Wang Anfeng had no intention of forming a deep connection with them. He then bowed courteously and said with his eyes lowered:

"If that is the case, I must return to clean the Academy. Please excuse me."

"Farewell."

Yu Wen blinked in slight surprise, raising her hand intending to detain him, but Wang Anfeng had already turned around, his Qi circulating through his entire body, using the martial technique of the Shaolin Vigorous Step Technique along with the foot patterns of the Taoist Nine Palaces. In the blink of an eye, he had departed into the distance, leaving only his silhouette for the three.

Yu Wen lowered her hand, watching the departing youth, her face thoughtful, before she suddenly shook her head with a chuckle:

"Who would have thought, this Book Guardian is quite cautious."

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment before speaking gravely:

"Just like that, let him go?"

Yu Wen spread her hands and said:

"What can we do? We're not kidnappers..."

Her voice trailed off before she continued:

"Besides, it's a great taboo to speak too deeply for an acquaintance. Revealing everything just upon meeting would be too foolish and slow, even for this unruly Monkey here to do such a thing."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Zhu rolled his eyes in exasperation, ready to retort, but the young lady tapped his forehead lightly with the scabbard, his expression becoming perplexed and his steps staggering as he took a step back.

Yu Wen flicked her wrist, causing the war saber to spin twice in her hand before casually tossing it into Xuan Zhu's embrace. The latter fumbled to catch it; even though he possessed Ninth Rank Inner Strength, he was holding the saber as if it was a great weight, his face pallid, his fingers gripping the blade tightly, not daring to be careless.

The young lady turned around, looking up at the crescent moon in the sky, hands clasped behind her back, she leisurely said:

"Let's go... time to return home."

"I wonder if Auntie Li has gone to sleep... never mind, I'll pay my respects tomorrow morning."

Taking a few steps yet without halting, she turned her head towards the middle-aged man and casually inquired:

"By the way, Uncle Kui, how would you rate the Book Guardian's skills in martial arts?"

The middle-aged man shook his head, saying:

"I truly don't know how he detected me just now; it might be due to that jade pendant he wears. As for his martial arts... "

He paused, seemingly in contemplation, then added:

"His swordsmanship is very refined. His Inner Strength Martial Body is similar to that of Young Master Xuan, both likely around the Ninth Rank."

"The punching and kicking skills clearly come from a prestigious lineage, yet their power is... quite ordinary. It seems that they were foundational techniques for him when he first entered the path of martial arts; now, they are of little use to him."

"The agility showcased must be the Nine Palace Steps from the Taoist Sect, the light-body movement technique was precisely as described on the Constellation Ranking List—indeed very poor."

"It seems he has spent most of his time refining his swordsmanship, hence though his sword skills are exceptional, his other martial arts talents are quite ordinary. His External Cultivation hasn't been displayed, but I fear it's probably just as mediocre as evaluated on the Constellation Ranking List."

"Extremely poor."

The voice paused for a moment, and the middle-aged man made his assessment of the youth.

"This is a martial artist who takes an unorthodox approach with the sword."
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"Immovable as a mountain, swift as thunder, with a kill in one strike."

"If you were to face him in combat, you should best disarm him of his longsword, confine him to one spot, and force him into close combat using fists and feet."

Yu Wen raised her hand to her forehead, sighing helplessly:

"Uncle Kui, we are here on a mission, not to fight to the death... "

Why are the people around me all of this nature?

Suddenly, a sense of powerlessness surfaced in the girl's heart.

The man clasped his fists, saying in a deep voice:

"It was a slip of the tongue on my part."

Yu Wen shook her head, replying:

"Uncle Kui, you have your considerations too, how can I blame you just because our thoughts differ?"

The man nodded and fell silent, not saying another word.

Though he had just admitted his mistake, because of his previous position, he didn't really think he was wrong. Following several steps behind the young girl, he suddenly remembered the simple, unadorned yet terrifyingly precise sword technique they had witnessed while hiding earlier. An idea surfaced in his mind.

He hesitated briefly, then shook his head, dismissing the ridiculous thought and silently continued to guard one step behind Yu Wen.

Ridiculous, too ridiculous.

How could there be a seasoned warrior only fourteen or fifteen years old in this world?

The man concluded as he watched the young girl walking ahead of him.

Perhaps, it was just a coincidence...

.............................

Wang Anfeng continued without stopping, using the Shaolin Vigorous Step Technique as he sprinted towards the Academy. Given the short distance, it only took him a moment to return, and only when he stepped through the Academy's gate did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. He steadied his Inner Qi while heading toward Wind Character Tower.

Within Shaolin Temple.

Only now did the scholar pull back his awareness from the outside world. Having just reached across realms to instruct Wang Anfeng, he was inevitably feeling somewhat exhausted. However, he did his best to show no signs of weakness, simply lying lazily in the bamboo chair and sneering at Ci, saying:

"Is this the martial arts you passed on to him?"

"I remember, that move is called 'Reverse Elbow Break'? Although it wasn't executed fully, employing the Golden Bell Shield Inner Strength, it only managed to disrupt the stance of a mere Ninth Rank Martial Artist, and didn't even qualify as a slight injury."

"Are all of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills such trash? Heh... might as well burn them."

These contemptuous words toward his martial lineage were hard to ignore even for someone as equanimous as Ci. The chanting paused briefly, and with eyes opening to look at the scholar, he said in a heavy tone:

"After all, it's just Shaolin Changquan, which is used for laying the foundation. Having such power is not bad at all."

The scholar didn't look at him, instead he just raised his eyes to the sky and spoke leisurely:

"Shaolin, huh, the orthodox path of martial arts, the Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills... Heh, what grand titles."

"I told you, this is just Shaolin Changquan..."

The scholar seemed to not hear, simply muttering to himself:

"Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills... So, they're just seventy-two pieces of junk, huh?"

"How did Emperor Qin not burn you guys back then, oh yeah, I forgot, your ancestors had not even been born yet, right? My apologies, my mistake... excuse me, excuse me..."

Ci's temples bulged with barely suppressed anger.

Master Ying reverted his gaze back to Ci, the cold sneer on his face replaced by a warm and scholarly look of kindness, as gentle as a modest gentleman, and he said deliberately:

"The Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills, huh..."

Ci's bushy brows twitched violently, and he suddenly stood up, with Qi Force swirling around him like a dragon hissing coldly:

"It's been a long time since I've taken action, you must be itching for a fight!"

In the face of the barely-contained 'Wrathful King' that was Ci, the scholar only put his hands behind his back and lifted the corners of his mouth in a smirk:

"Heh..."

Before he could finish, Wu Changqing, who had been sitting and watching the excitement, changed expression, lifted his right hand to his lips, and coughed loudly twice while using his astonishing movement technique to lean back on the lounge chair, grabbing a previously read medical book to shield himself.

In this solitary peak, amidst the unusual fluctuations, the figure of a young man dressed in blue appeared.

Wang Anfeng got used to the sudden change in his surroundings and noticed his master sitting cross-legged chanting scriptures, the scholar with an indifferent look gazing toward the distant sky, and the second master still engrossed in his medical studies. It seemed to him as if no matter how tumultuous the outside world was, it remained unchanged here, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Shaolin Temple is peaceful today as well...

PS: First update presented