The newcomer’s face was completely unfamiliar. Liu Xiaolou had never seen him before. Back in the day, Liu Xiaolou would’ve admired and respected a swordsman dressed in white. But after running into so many of them, he was starting to get annoyed. Why did all these sword cultivators insist on wearing white robes and carrying long swords? Out of ten, at least six or eight looked exactly like that. Couldn’t they at least try something different?

Did white really “outshine the snow”? The whole thing was just baffling.

Still, this was Shenwu Mountain. Anyone who could make it straight to the SunRain Hibiscus Garden was almost certainly tied to the Su family somehow, so Liu Xiaolou kept his manners and asked, “May I know who you are?”

The man gave Liu Xiaolou a once-over, then asked, “So you’re my fifth brother-in-law?”

Liu froze. He’d been on Shenwu Mountain for two and a half years and knew everyone who had the right to call him that. Not once had he ever heard anyone use that term for him. And now, the very first time someone did, it was a complete stranger?

“You are…”

“I’m Thirteenth.”

Suddenly Liu Xiaolou remembered. “Ah, Young Master Thirteen. I heard you went south to join the South Sea Sword Sect. When did you come back?”

So this was the Thirteenth Young Master of the Su family, Su Jing, whom Susu had once mentioned. He was the legitimate son of the Su family’s second branch. The story went that in his younger years he had been lazy in cultivation and made little progress. Later, he insisted he wanted to study swordsmanship instead of beast-taming, so he was sent to the South Sea Sword Sect, to train under Bai Changzhen, a Golden Core Sword Master and close friend of Su Zhi. Since then, he had never returned to Shenwu Mountain. Liu Xiaolou hadn’t expected to finally meet him today.

Back when he left, Su Jing had been only fifteen. By now he should be eighteen. Maybe it was the sword training, but Liu Xiaolou could sense a faint sharpness in his eyes.

Su Jing said, “Got back a few days ago.”

Liu Xiaolou smiled. “It’s been years. About time you came back for a visit, huh? Your fifth sister has missed you a lot. She mentions you often, haha.”

In truth, Madam Su had never once mentioned this thirteenth brother in front of him. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about him, but that she spent nearly all her time immersed in cultivation, barely sparing Liu Xiaolou a few words. Everything he knew came from Susu.

“I came back with my master,” Su Jing said.

“You mean Sword Master Bai is here at Shenwu Mountain too?” Liu Xiaolou asked. “I really should pay him a visit if I get the chance, haha… So, Thirteenth Young Master, are you here to see your fifth sister? She’s not around; she’s gone into the Grotto-Heaven…”

“I know.”

“Hm?”

“I came here to see you.”

“Ah… well, come in then… Thirteenth Young Master, what brings you to me?”

Standing in the garden, Su Jing let his eyes wander around for a moment. Perhaps recalling something, he tilted his head in thought, then cupped his hands and said, “Brother-in-law, please!”

Liu Xiaolou blinked in confusion. “Huh? Please? Please what?”

Su Jing’s expression turned serious. “Please give me your guidance!”

Liu Xiaolou was stunned. There had been a time when he went around challenging the Su family members who kept sneering and picking fights with him. He’d even declared the matches to be “duels to the death,” which scared them off from confronting him face-to-face again. But all that was long behind him. Why was Thirteenth suddenly standing here like this? Had those guys put him up to it?

“Why do you want to challenge me?”

“I heard that before you left for Jinting Mountain, people came here to the SunRain Hibiscus Garden one after another to seek duels with you. Now that I know you’ve returned, I’ve come as well to ask for your instruction.”

Now Liu Xiaolou understood, and couldn’t help but laugh in spite of himself. “Thirteenth Young Master, do you even know how those people challenged me back then?”

Su Jing replied, “I asked Brother Xiong from Huagou and Brother Yun from White Cloud Manor. They both told me that your mastery of formations is profound, and once someone steps into your formation, they can’t escape. But when I pressed for details, neither of them would say more. They just laughed at me, saying I was too young and not yet ready to enter a formation.”

He drew the longsword from his back. “That’s why I’ve come to ask for your instruction. I want to see if my sword can break through your formation.”

Liu Xiaolou almost burst out laughing, but managed to hold it back. “You really aren’t at the stage to enter a formation yet.”

Su Jing frowned. “But I’m already eighteen. I’ve reached the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. Compared to you, my cultivation isn’t weak. When I sparred with Brother Yun, the fight ended in a draw. If he can enter the formation, why can’t I?”

A draw? With Yun Ao, who’s already at the sixth layer?

Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “That’s not the issue… But hold on, your cultivation’s advanced quickly. I heard when you left for the South Sea Sword Sect three years ago, you’d only just reached the second level.”

Su Jing nodded. “My teacher says that in another half year, I should be able to break through directly to the sixth layer.”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment, then asked, “Which meridians have you cultivated?”

Su Jing answered solemnly, “The Hand Greater Yin, Hand Yang Bright, Foot Greater Yin, Foot Yang Bright, Hand Faint Yin, Hand Lesser Yang, and Foot Faint Yin meridians.”

It had only been a casual question, but to his surprise, Liu Xiaolou realized Su Jing had cultivated in exactly the same meridians as himself. That immediately piqued his interest. “What technique are you practicing?”

“When I first started, I used my family’s Spirit Mist technique to open the Foot Greater Yin, Foot Yang Bright, and Hand Faint Yin meridians. After entering my master’s sect, I switched to the Tidewatching Sword Formula.”

“And now?” Liu Xiaolou pressed.

“There are still eight acupoints left unopened on the Foot Faint Yin Meridian,” Su Jing said.

Liu Xiaolou laughed. The order of cultivating meridians could vary, but the order of opening the acupoints within them was fixed. Judging from this, Su Jing’s progress under the South Sea Sword Sect really had been rapid. Still, he had unlocked one acupoint fewer than Liu Xiaolou.

After three years, he had finally found a suitable opponent.

Seeing him smile up at the sky, Su Jing felt himself getting annoyed. He thought to himself, Even if you are my brother-in-law, you shouldn’t look down on me like this. Have I not fought enough battles against stronger opponents? And our cultivation is about the same, isn’t it? Besides, you’re just a rogue cultivator from Wulong Mountain. What’s there to be so arrogant about?

“My sword is five feet long, refined from the fangs of sea-dragons that dwell in the South Sea islands. It carries the force to stir tides and raise waves, it restrains fire and corrodes metal. Brother-in-law, be careful! Set your formation!” Su Jing had already made up his mind to teach his brother-in-law a lesson. He honestly couldn’t understand what his sister saw in this man, marrying him in such a rush. Today would be the day to test his true worth.

But Liu Xiaolou didn’t take out his formation disk. He simply nodded. “If you really want to test my formation, that’s not impossible. But first we need to see if you’ve reached that point. You know as well as I do that cultivation level alone doesn’t necessarily reflect one’s true fighting ability.”

Su Jing’s expression turned solemn. “Of course I know. How does brother-in-law want to test me?”

Liu Xiaolou clasped his hands behind his back. “Make your move.”

Su Jing almost choked with anger, his fury rising higher. But he had cultivated the path of the sword long enough to know that a swordsman must never let outside matters stir his emotions before a fight. Forcing his anger down, he reminded himself to focus all his attention on the long sword in his grip.

In that instant, the trees and flowers vanished from his sight. The pavilions, the waterside halls, even the entire SunRain Hibiscus Garden: all of it disappeared. Only Liu Xiaolou remained.

Sword intent gathered, killing aura flared. A sudden wind swept through, scattering the falling leaves.

“Quack!”

“Meow…”

The sword intent he had just summoned was abruptly shattered by the sudden arrival of a big white goose and a little black cat, nearly breaking Su Jing’s concentration altogether.

Glancing at the two animals peering at him with curiosity, Su Jing almost felt like slaughtering them on the spot.

He blinked, forced his focus back, and drew the sword intent together once more. With a sharp shout, he merged man and sword into one and hurled himself straight at his opponent.

Suddenly Liu Xiaolou’s voice rang out: “Now!”

Su Jing instantly felt his whole body tighten. Still midair, he was bound fast by a rope that appeared from nowhere. All his acupoints were sealed, and he crashed heavily to the ground.