As a father, I just want to quietly watch you live a long life

The clanging of metal, a constant hum!

It was a reflection of the shock in Zhao Chuanxiong's heart at this moment!

Because of the Spirit Child, Zhao Chuanxiong had carefully reviewed Li Che's information, a child who lost his parents at a young age, raised by his uncle.

Before the birth of his daughter Li Nuanxi, he was nothing but a hardworking laborer at Xu's Wood Carving Shop, a basic hired hand lacking in strength. Not to mention martial cultivation, he didn't even know the simplest farming techniques.

Yet, in just over two years, this laborer had undergone Bone Tempering!

Only two years of martial practice… and already stepping into Bone Tempering!

What kind of martial talent is this?!

To think that the Skin Refinement and Sinew Transforming phases were extremely time-consuming; it took Zhao Chuanxiong a whole eight years to progress from Skin Refinement to Bone Tempering…

"I really didn't expect it… Bone Tempering initiation, just two years, and you, a mere laborer, have truly made a name for yourself!"

Zhao Chuanxiong squinted his eyes, gripping his long blade with a slightly murderous intent.

After all, he had set his sights on Li Che's daughter, but with Li Che's high martial talent, there was no guarantee he wouldn't come back for revenge, becoming a huge problem!

And the people around the wood carving shop were dumbfounded.

Zhao Xuan and Wang Zhengpin, who also learned the Skin Refinement Technique from Xu North Tiger, along with Li Che, appeared quite stupefied.

Li Che… had undergone Bone Tempering?

How could it be so fast!

Everyone started martial practice at the same time, and those two were still struggling in the Skin Refinement phase, having just barely reached Skin Refinement Completion, without even starting on Sinew Transforming.

Yet Li Che had already undergone Bone Tempering…

Once he became a Quenched-Bone Warrior, he would be a respectable figure even in the Outer City!

Li Che's expression was cold. When he had achieved Complete Meridian Opening, Xu You had passed on the Bone Tempering Method of Xu Ji. Now, displaying his Bone Tempering Cultivation was not without reason.

"Head Constable Zhao, thank you for your leniency."

"You are merely suspicious, and you have no right to imprison me, do you? You said that the Lord of the City issued a writ of arrest for Master Chen. Does that writ also mention arresting me?"

"Sun Changbiao coveted my daughter, and my family is the victim. Surely the victim is not to be blamed, right?"

Li Che flexed his arms, with blood surging throughout his body, and spoke in a deep voice.

Zhao Chuanxiong narrowed his eyes, filled with murderous intent, with his broad blade humming incessantly.

He tapped his fingers against the edge of the blade, the silvery reflection of the blade mirrored his stern visage.

"How dare you, a lowly commoner, question the government's actions?"

"If I insist on taking you to Fei Lei Prison, what can you do about it?"

There was a coldness spread across the rugged face of Zhao Chuanxiong; he was afraid of death, and therefore… he must kill Li Che.

Even if Li Che was the popular wood carver of Xu's Wood Carving Shop, a seedling of a Woodcarving Master… so what?

In Zhao Chuanxiong's eyes, Li Che, with his fame and reputation, needed to die even more.

If he didn't stop Li Che now, the day would come when he, Zhao Chuanxiong, would have to die!

"With Xu You not here, who in Xu Ji can support you? Even if they inquire about it later… Xu Ji wouldn't dare to touch me. My uncle is Zhao Xuanhai, the Divine Catcher of the Inner City…"

The killing intent on Zhao Chuanxiong gradually built up like a wild whirlwind, and his blade technique, which had reached a major accomplishment, already showed signs of developed blade momentum.

Once he reached the Transformation Realm, the formed blade intent would allow him to resist a Divine Cultivator, to some extent.

The grim killing intent swirled with the wind and snow.

In front of the wood carving shop, many masters hesitated whether to intervene and help Li Che.

But involving themselves with Zhao Chuanxiong, who was like a rabid dog, was obviously not a good idea.

Faced with trouble, most people chose to protect themselves wisely.

Li Che's eyes narrowed as murderous intent surged with a hint of surprise. Zhao Chuanxiong... had a Divine Catcher as an uncle?

This was something he had not known before.

Divine Catcher... the Divine Cultivator from the Black Yamen of the Inner City.

He was a true Divine Cultivator!

Li Che's heart grew slightly somber.

As the saying goes, to destroy the grass, one must eliminate the roots, but if he killed Zhao Chuanxiong, this root… would be too thick to remove.

Faced with Zhao Chuanxiong's aggressively murderous intent, Li Che contemplated how to respond.

In the distance, there was a sound of breaking through the air as a figure sped over rapidly.

The wind and snow ripped apart like a torn curtain!

Zhao Chuanxiong frowned, looking toward the swiftly approaching figure of Xu You, his eyes flashing with surprise.

This Xu You… Wasn't he supposed to be held up in the Inner City?

Clearly, Zhao Chuanxiong had underestimated the importance of Li Che in Xu You's heart. As soon as his plan began, Xu You received the message and directly rushed back from the Inner City…

As a direct member of the Xu Family, his presence meant that Zhao Chuanxiong understood he couldn't kill Li Che today.

Sheathing his sword, Zhao Chuanxiong took one last deep look at Li Che and made a swift retreat, not waiting for Xu You to arrive and confront him.

Li Che kept his gaze fixed on the retreating figure of Zhao Chuanxiong.

Xu You landed, stirring up a storm of snow, the cold wind howling, his expression extremely grim.

"Was Old Chen taken away?"

"Zhao Chuanxiong... still wants to take you away?"

Xu You's hand turned into a fist, veins popping out, "Si Mubai has gone too far... so blatant."

Li Che was taken aback, "Si Mubai?"

"The Spirit Infant Sect attacked the 'Divine Cultivation Institute' of Xu Ji, intent on plundering the Spirit Children and Spirit Babies... I was urgently called back to guard the Inner City, I can no longer stay in the Outer City during this time..."

Xu You looked at Li Che with a serious expression.

"The Spirit Infant Sect wouldn't dare to touch the 'Divine Cultivation Institute.' It's the root of the noble families and clans of divine cultivators in Fei Lei City, but... we must not be unguarded, so this is an overt scheme. I must return..."

"Zhao Chuanxiong taking Old Chen away at this time, I suspect the goal of the Spirit Infant Sect... is Xi Xi."

"Xi Xi's Spirit Child grade is too high. Si Mubai wants to forge a Divine Foundation; he needs a catalyst, the catalyst of an upper-class Spirit Child."

Xu You's voice was very cold, yet also full of helplessness.

"The actions of Si Family like this... joining with the Spirit Infant Sect, aren't the other major families in the Inner City taking care of it?" Li Che's eyelids drooped as he lightly stroked the veins that had sprung up on his fists.

"After all, Si Mubai is a direct descendant of the Si Family, and he is seen as a likely candidate for forging a Divine Foundation. The Si Family will definitely protect him firmly, without evidence, the other families can't say much..."

"After all, that old grandee of the Si Family in the Divine Base Realm is still alive."

Xu You exhaled deeply.

"Although Si Mubai is considered a Divine Base seed, it's extremely difficult for him to forge a Divine Foundation... hopes are slim. That's why he joined forces with the Spirit Infant Sect, hoping to break through with the help of the Spirit Infant Master's 'Godly Essence Sculpture'..."

"Godly Essence Sculpture... it requires the essence of a Spirit Child as a catalyst, so..."

As Xu You said this, Li Che basically understood.

So it turned out...

That was the collaboration Lei Chunlan discussed with Si Mubai back then.

Which means, at that time... Si Mubai had already set his sights on Xi Xi.

"Si Mubai..."

Li Che narrowed his eyes... a scion of the noble families, eh?

Not easy to kill...

A divine cultivator at the Cultivation Peak... facing him now, even if Li Che activated the 'Dragon Elephant Vajra,' would he be able to kill him?

Seems difficult.

But... not impossible to kill!

Scions of noble families, can also be killed!

"You don't need to worry about Old Chen; he'll be fine. Zhao Chuanxiong wouldn't dare to harm him; the goal was merely to divert him away."

"Tonight, you should stay in the courtyard and make sure Xi Xi is safe. Don't go anywhere... if something isn't right, take Xi Xi and run away. Focus on evading and dragging out time!"

"I can return tomorrow, just make it until dawn, and I'll rush back immediately..."

"I've mentioned your situation to my family, it's a pity... my words carry little weight, otherwise Xu Ji should have arranged for a Blood Exchange Warrior to come and ensure your and Xi Xi's safety."

Xu You gave a self-deprecating smile.

Being out of favor is just that sorrowful.

Xu You had already made Li Che's excellence clear, but it was still undervalued...

Li Che, on the contrary, ended up comforting Xu You.

Without further words, Xu You patted Li Che on the shoulder, then said a few words of request to the few masters in the wood carving shop before turning and quickly leaving for the Inner City.

Li Che also didn't say much, bidding farewell to those in the wood carving shop who were still astonished at his martial cultivation, he turned and returned to Xu Ji's Courtyard, to the yard.

The gate of the courtyard was tightly closed, Zhang Ya was holding Xi Xi in the house, her complexion slightly pale.

As soon as Li Che returned, Zhang Ya instantly felt reassured.

"Husband, Uncle Chen was taken away, is he... okay?"

Now that her main support had returned, Zhang Ya became less strong, starting to panic.

Li Che took Xi Xi from her arms, the little girl was deep in sleep, drooling, seemingly dreaming about the taste of candied haws.

"It's okay, Old Chen will be fine, it's just a small problem..."

"Wife, come here, I'm going to teach you something."

Li Che held Xi Xi in one arm and took Zhang Ya's hand with the other.

They went to the study, where Li Che opened a box and took out a palm-sized black nanmu wooden bird.

"This is the mechanism I've made, 'Wood Raven.' It's a bit powerful, and in case of danger, it can protect you and Xi Xi... I'll show you how to operate it..."

Li Che instructed Zhang Ya on how to operate the 'Wood Raven.' Zhang Ya listened intently and quickly memorized it.

"Be careful, it must not be exposed to open flame..." Li Che cautioned.

Zhang Ya nodded continuously, carefully storing away the 'Wood Raven,' soon after, she looked at Li Che with curiosity.

"Husband... You said this little wooden bird's power is a bit strong, so how strong is it?"

The Wood Raven, ranked eighth among hidden weapons in the 'Tang's Mechanism Essentials,' had been further modified by Li Che using the talent of the 'Immortal Artisan's Dao Fruit.'

Li Che pondered for a moment, then considering his own strength, he carefully provided an answer.

The power...

"If operated properly, its power is roughly... like a martial artist such as Old Chen, if not careful..."

"It can knock someone half to death."

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