With the Jingmao Warehouse annihilated and many of the Jingmao Trading Company’s Cross-Training experts dead, the company had completely withdrawn from the Upper River District. The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall even seized the opportunity to expand, taking over a good portion of the business that had once belonged to Jingmao Trading Company.

Overall, the situation in the Upper River District had stabilized. The other two major martial arts halls, however, were still embroiled in disputes with two other trading companies. They had expressed interest in seeking aid from the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall, but the price they offered wasn’t right, so Weng Xiaolin hadn’t agreed to help for the time being.

After all, the three great martial arts halls were, in theory, competitors. Although the Jili Empire was a common enemy, the fee for their services was non-negotiable, and the division of interests involved was extremely complex.

Half a month passed quickly without any incidents. Whether it was due to a temporary shortage of manpower or some other reason, Director Pete did not make another move against the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall.

And so, the True Inheritance banquet that Weng Xiaolin held for Zhao Xuanqi took place as scheduled amidst the calm.

The Drunken Immortal Tower was packed with guests.

All the influential figures of the Upper River District had been invited by Weng Xiaolin to witness him accepting a True Inheritance disciple.

Thus, Zhao Xuanqi naturally became the Martial Arts Hall’s fourth True Inheritance disciple.

No one was unconvinced, and no one dared to question it.

After all, Zhao Xuanqi’s combat record and fearsome reputation were plain to see. The credit for single-handedly repelling the Jingmao Trading Company, a major enemy of the Martial Arts Hall, was more than enough to secure his position as a True Inheritance disciple.

Zhao Xuanqi was surrounded by voices of praise and flattery, but he paid them no mind. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He knew very well that fame and fortune were all illusions.

One could have wealth, but be reduced to utter poverty overnight.

One could have power, but see their family destroyed overnight.

One could have fame, but be utterly disgraced overnight.

These were merely external possessions, dependent on the praise of others. Only one’s own Martial Dao strength could never be stripped away with a single word.

In this world, strength was everything.

Therefore, he trained maniacally every day, never resting, and never pausing to indulge himself. When some wealthy merchants tried to send women his way, he never even spared them a second glance.

This ruthless self-discipline, after observing it for a long time, left even Weng Xiaolin and Liu Changfeng somewhat shaken.

The banquet was dull, but one thing did surprise Zhao Xuanqi.

As Zhao Xuanqi’s older sister, Zhao Qin was an important witness for the True Inheritance ceremony, so she also attended the banquet.

He originally thought that, given Zhao Qin’s personality, she wouldn’t enjoy such a hedonistic occasion filled with toasts and schmoozing. But to his surprise, Zhao Qin was unusually proactive and lively at the banquet, chatting merrily with influential people from all walks of life.

This made Zhao Xuanqi frown slightly. He had been so focused on his own Martial Dao advancement recently that he hadn’t paid attention to Zhao Qin’s life for a long time. It seemed she had undergone some significant changes during this period.

’It seems I’ll have to send someone to find out more about what she’s been up to lately.’

Zhao Xuanqi narrowed his eyes slightly.

After the True Inheritance banquet ended, Zhao Xuanqi dedicated his days to arduous training—at the Martial Arts Hall during the day and cultivating the Hundred Beasts Mystic Gate at night. Many people were watching to see what the Wind Shadow Hall Master would do now that he had become a True Inheritance disciple.

After all, this man was audacious and ruthless. He had taken down the Jingmao Trading Company even before becoming a True Inheritance disciple; who knew what he would do now that he was one.

The result was rather shocking: the very first thing this ruthless man did after becoming a True Inheritance disciple was to provide disaster relief and distribute food.

A famine was raging in Guangxi and Guangdong, and a large number of refugees had fled to Celestial Sea. Zhao Xuanqi’s timing for providing relief was perfect. In an instant, the man seen as a ruthless figure by Celestial Sea Prefecture’s high society became a great benefactor in the eyes of many refugees. This even significantly boosted the reputation of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall.

In addition, Zhao Xuanqi also funded a student aid program at the Celestial Sea Prefecture Women’s Academy with a considerable sum of silver coins. This helped many female workers who couldn’t afford night school to attend classes for free, giving them a chance to slightly change their own destinies. For a time, Zhao Xuanqi’s reputation and image soared among the young women of Celestial Sea Prefecture. As a result, Zhao Qin, who had already begun her studies at the Women’s Academy, also became a prominent figure there.

Beyond that, Zhao Xuanqi performed many other charitable acts, leaving the upper-class figures of Celestial Sea Prefecture reeling for a moment, wondering just what this Wind Shadow Hall Master was trying to do.

The dignified Wind Shadow Hall Master of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall, the ruthless man who had silenced everyone in the Jingmao Warehouse overnight and burned it all to the ground, was now doing good deeds? ’Has he killed so many people that he feels the need to accumulate some Yin Merit for himself?’

Even Weng Xiaolin and Liu Changfeng found this strange. They asked Zhao Xuanqi about it several times, but he always shifted the reason onto Zhao Qin.

In a side courtyard of the Xiaolin Escort Agency.

’So all these actions... they were useless?’

Zhao Xuanqi sat in his study, his brow furrowed slightly.

He had taken the time to do these things not because Zhao Qin had urged him to, nor because of a sudden attack of conscience, nor because he wanted to accumulate Yin Merit for a better reincarnation in the next life.

Rather, he wanted to test how he could achieve a faster integration with Zhao Qi’s body.

Based on the battle during the Three Halls Tournament, he had originally thought that Zhao Qi had likely inherited his parents’ will—a desire to save the world, save the country, and improve the lives of the people. But now, it seemed his guess had been flawed.

The body hadn’t reacted at all to the things he had done.

"It seems my judgment was flawed."

Zhao Xuanqi mused for a moment and began to review Zhao Qi’s memories once again.

His parents were killed by Warlords, leaving him and his sister destitute and homeless. On the road as refugees, their old family servant absconded with their money. The siblings suffered constant bullying on their journey. They had barely made it to Yuehai when they were targeted by Deng Zhuo.

’Perhaps his ambitions weren’t so grand. He was just a young man who wanted to use his fists to right wrongs and live a free-spirited, chivalrous life?’

Zhao Xuanqi narrowed his eyes slightly.

’However, if that were the real reason, the body should have reacted when I killed Deng Zhuo.’

’Or perhaps it was because I had only been reincarnated for a few days at that point, and the concept of "integration" with Zhao Qi’s body didn’t even exist yet? Could it be that only after tempering it through the Martial Dao and achieving some fusion did a real connection with this body begin to form?’

For a moment, Zhao Xuanqi couldn’t quite grasp the thread of it all.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Just then, a knock came from the study door.

"Come in."

Zhao Xuanqi reined in his thoughts and called out.

Cai Mingliang pushed the door open, walked in, and placed a stack of documents on Zhao Xuanqi’s desk.

"These are the files you requested," Cai Mingliang said.

"Leave them here. Understood."

Zhao Xuanqi nodded.

"Oh, right. I recently had someone specifically investigate Miss Zhao Qin’s movements. I found some things that I feel are rather strange. You might be interested in taking a look."

As he spoke, Cai Mingliang handed another file to Zhao Xuanqi.

"Oh?"

This time, Zhao Xuanqi’s interest was piqued.

He began to look through the file Cai Mingliang had given him.

After a long moment, he slowly closed the file, his eyes narrowing slightly.