Volume Three: Rising Fame Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Adorable Girl Wielding Heavy Weapons

When she saw the carriage, Xiong Xiu'er already felt a certain contempt, especially since there was a girl among them; her opinion of Li Yu had plummeted. In her eyes, he was nothing more than a vain, lustful braggart.

But when Li Yu stepped out of the carriage, his back swathed in bandages, her impression shifted unexpectedly. Whatever else could be said, in her mind, "scars are a person's romance," and this notion held a high place in her esteem.

"What tremendous strength!"

Li Yu, recalling the etiquette he'd learned, greeted the girl before him with the Xiong clan's customary gesture: the two of them clenched their fists and tapped knuckles together.

He hadn't expected, at the moment of contact, to feel an immense force—far greater than Xiong Feng's.

"Your strength isn't bad, but you're too slight. You need to eat more!" Xiong Xiu'er remarked.

Li Yu had no aspirations toward that sort of muscular physique; he merely nodded without protest.

For the Xiong clan, robust physique was the ideal of beauty. Clearly, there was truth in that.

"What level is your cultivation now?" Xiong Xiu'er asked, her eyes shining.

Li Yu replied, calm and unblushing, "Peak of the sixth rank."

Beside him, Xiaocui watched, wide-eyed and secretly relieved.

"The child has become sensible, knows how to hide his true abilities!"

"We're the same rank. We'll spar when we have time..." Xiong Xiu'er saw Li Yu motion to his back, realizing he needed to recover for the Hundred Clans Assembly, so she changed her tune: "After the assembly, we'll have a bout. I hear the Thunderblood lineage only produces one per generation. If I come across one, I must see how formidable it really is."

"Next time, for sure!"

This girl was a true battle fanatic.

Li Yu mused on this, but Xiong Xiu'er was not unreasonable. After a few words, she rode her four-armed berserk bear back to her clan's army.

"I'm getting more and more interested in the Hundred Clans Assembly!" Li Yu returned to the carriage, continuing to refine the spiritual energy drawn from the fruit wine within him.

The stronger he became now, the fewer surprises there would be later. Moreover, this world was anything but safe—he had just survived an assassination, and after the assembly, those plotting against him would likely become more numerous and powerful.

Even someone as noble as Qing Anqi, the only daughter of a duke, had been targeted in secret; for him, those harboring ill intent were as plentiful as fish in the river.

In the days that followed, Li Yu had fewer opportunities to wander over to Qing Yangde's tent. Especially after the teams merged and left the Xiong clan's territory, the two commanders became even busier, and most of the time was spent on forced marches.

"If this were Blue Star, we'd have already crossed half of Huaxia," Li Yu muttered, astonished.

Both the Qingyang Army and the Berserk Bear Army were composed of divine cultivators as soldiers, so their daily progress was swift, leaping over mountains and crossing rivers, nothing slowing their pace.

Under such circumstances, nearly a month passed before the destination came into view.

"If the Great Qin Empire were whole, just how vast would it be?" Li Yu thought of his former life in Ming, an even more expansive empire. Ming's current territory was only a third of its former glory.

Such a vast empire, what kind of demon could have brought about its downfall?

"Young Master, in one more day we'll reach the direct territory of the Ming royal family," Xiaocui said, returning to the carriage. "It's been peaceful lately."

She was reflecting that, aside from the assassination attempt at the pass, once they left their territory, things had been calm.

"Within the Qing clan, those who acted had all arranged death warriors in advance. There was no way to trace them, so they feared no reprisal."

"In the Ming realm, both the Qing and Xiong clans are powerful. When passing through other clans' lands, they clear the way, afraid of being framed. Now we're traveling together, and with so many in our group, no one dares provoke us. Did you forget that incident?"

Li Yu spoke, referring to the time they'd passed a barren mountain and encountered a small clan.

At that moment, a group of black-clad men were rampaging through the small clan's forces, probably because their sudden appearance caused the black-clad men to withdraw. Still, out of five hundred soldiers sent by the clan, fewer than a hundred remained.

That meant, for this Hundred Clans Assembly, the small clan had lost eligibility, as their three chosen youths had all perished.

It was a lesson for Li Yu in the unchecked power of strength in this world.

"By the way, Young Master, this is from the general," Xiaocui said.

Li Yu took the document Xiaocui handed him. "Brother Yangde?"

"Yes, yes."

Before opening it, Li Yu was drawn by the signature on the cover.

"Ming Royal Family?"

The Qing clan's library was rich, introducing many clans, and the Ming royal family was the largest clan in Ming. Li Yu had always paid attention to this, being interested in the imperial capital where he was to sign in.

He opened it, and sure enough, it contained the Ming royal family's arrangements for the Hundred Clans Assembly.

But before he could examine the information in detail, a familiar voice came from outside the window.

"Brother Yu, come out for a spar!"

Li Yu responded, "Coming," and got out of the carriage, finding both armies had already set up camp and begun fortifying positions.

At the side, Xiong Xiu'er watched him intensely.

Ever since Qing Yangde had let slip that Li Yu had survived an ambush by two assassins of the same rank, killing them both, Xiong Xiu'er had become excited.

To defeat two sixth-rank assassins single-handedly—Xiong Xiu'er always thought Li Yu was sixth-rank—she was convinced of his prowess. Many assassins, though lacking accumulation, would cultivate one or two lethal arts, often trading life for life, making them formidable for a brief time.

Thus Xiong Xiu'er had been pursuing him for a match ever since.

Li Yu, worn out by her persistence, promised to spar after the camp was set up. Unexpectedly, he managed to subdue her in their duel, and ever since she'd been calling him "Brother Yu," hoping for more matches.

"How can someone be so obsessed with martial arts?"

Li Yu was helpless, but Xiong Xiu'er only pestered him for duels, gazing at him with pitiful eyes, never demanding more, so he couldn't refuse.

Gradually, their relationship improved.

"What shall we practice today?" Li Yu stretched. "Hammer, halberd, or something else?"

Xiong Xiu'er was eighteen, and though her face was soft and round, like a little doll, her body was all wiry muscle, like Nezha—built from training with heavy weapons!

Her double-handed bronze hammers moved with incredible grace and power!