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Li Nuo had a very sweet sleep.
When he opened his eyes and saw the sky had brightened, Li Nuo rolled out of bed and exclaimed in alarm, "Not good, I'm going to be late!"
It was only when he saw the two figures standing in front of the bed that Li Nuo paused slightly, and then he realized, he no longer had to attend that class ever again.
One maid moistened a towel with hot water, wrung it out, and then said in a gentle voice, "Young Master, allow me to help you wash up."
Seeing that she seemed to want to wipe his face, Li Nuo quickly took the towel from her, saying, "I can do it myself, myself..."
Having been independent from a young age, he really wasn't used to being waited on.
He randomly wiped his face, and the maid took the towel away, while another plump young maid immediately said, "Young Master, be good, open your mouth, I will clean your teeth for you, otherwise, you'll get bugs in your teeth…"
"What 'be good, open your mouth'," like coaxing a child—Li Nuo quickly realized that in the eyes of the maidservants and servants in the mansion, he, a fool, was probably no different from a child.
"I can do it myself just fine."
Li Nuo took something from her hand that was about the length of two fingers, blue and white in color, the material somewhat like jade, with some sort of animal hair on the front end, which must be the toothbrush. On the toothbrush, there was also a type of white paste with a refreshing fragrance.
The use of this thing should not be too different from a toothbrush in later generations. After Li Nuo brushed his teeth, the young maid brought him mouthwash. Once he finished his ablutions, Li Nuo sat in front of a bronze mirror, looking at the reflection of the man in the mirror.
Coincidentally, the people from two different worlds not only shared the same name but even looked exactly alike. This comforted Li Nuo somewhat; even though he had travelled through time, he still possessed the handsome and familiar face of his own.
The plump young maid stood behind him, combing his hair. Li Nuo could handle other things himself, but faced with that head of flowing long hair, he genuinely didn't know what to do.
The maid skillfully styled his hair into a bun and inserted a jade hairpin into it, and soon a refined and handsome young gentleman appeared before him.
Li Nuo looked at his reflection in the mirror and casually asked, "What time is it now?"
The young maid replied, "Young Master, it has just passed 11:00 a.m., would you like to have your noon meal now?"
It was then that Li Nuo realized he had actually slept until noon, which immediately made him feel anxious. His life was already short, and now he had wasted an entire morning; he had no intention of continuing to stay at home.
Soon, under Housekeeper Wu's lead, several servants brought the meal to Li Nuo's room. Even though it was only Li Nuo eating the noon meal, there were eight dishes and one soup, four meat and four vegetable dishes, all flavorful and appetizing. He knew that back in the 21st century, he ate takeout every day and never lived with such standards…
Li Nuo looked at Housekeeper Wu and asked, "Have you eaten yet, Housekeeper Wu? Come and eat with me."
Housekeeper Wu grinned and said, "Thank you, Young Master, but this old servant has already eaten."
There was no time to dally; Li Nuo didn't say anything more, picked up his chopsticks and quickly finished his lunch. He then wiped his mouth with the handkerchief the maid handed to him and said, "Tell the kitchen that they don't need to prepare so many dishes next time; two dishes are enough for me alone. Also, the Lady's wallet was left in my room. You can return it to her later…"
After arranging these matters, he then said to Housekeeper Wu, "Let's go, we're heading out."
Housekeeper Wu was taken aback: "Going out again? Where to?"
…
A moment later, in the front yard of the Li Mansion, Li Nuo glanced at Housekeeper Wu, then at the four grey-clothed elders behind him, and looked around, unsure, "Just the few of you, is that not too few?"
Li Nuo thought that the pomp of dozens of people accompanying him on outings the day before was excessive, but did it have to be this shabby today?
Those four grey-clothed elders, one missing a left arm, another missing a right arm, one blind in the left eye, another blind in the right eye; they did not seem very reliable at a glance. Li Nuo seriously doubted whether they could ensure his safety.
It wasn't that he had picked up the habits of a young master in just one day; rather, this world was simply too dangerous.
That arrow shot at his head yesterday still made him break out in cold sweat when he thought about it.
Housekeeper Wu chuckled and said, "Young Master, rest assured, although we are old, we're still agile. If there really are blind assassins, we guarantee that anyone below the Fifth Realm will not return from where they came, and even if we face a master of the Fifth Realm, we would be able to offer resistance and ensure not a single hair on Young Master's head is harmed…"
Li Nuo was still not reassured and asked, "What if it's someone from the Sixth Realm?"
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"If it's a Sixth Realm assassin..." Housekeeper Wu cleared his throat and said, "Young Master, rest assured, even on the road to the Yellow Spring, this old servant will take good care of you..."
Li Nuo understood. If it was a Sixth Realm assassin, they would all be dead.
As for the Martial Path, he had only heard a passing remark from Housekeeper Wu about thousand-catty strength, Qi Manipulation, and causing injury just by Picking Flowers and Flying Leaves; however, he had no concrete understanding of how formidable each realm really was.
On the way to the County Magistrate's Office, Li Nuo took the opportunity to ask.
According to Housekeeper Wu, in this world, the Martial Path was divided into seven realms.
First Realm, Body Shaping, which primarily involves tempering the body—the strength of someone in the Body Shaping Realm would increase significantly compared to an ordinary person; Second Realm, Inner Breath, where the embryonic form of True Qi begins to form within the body, further increasing strength with the enhancement of Inner Breath; Third Realm, True Qi, at this level, Inner Breath condenses into True Qi, which can be attached externally to weapons, easily Splitting Gold and Breaking Stone, and can also cover the body to form a True Qi Shield, protecting like a Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth Shirt, impervious to blades and spears. Reaching this realm, one can cause injury by Picking Flowers and Flying Leaves.
Body Shaping, Inner Breath, and True Qi Realm—the first three stages didn't seem to go beyond the scope of ordinary martial arts fiction to Li Nuo.
But at the Fourth Realm, which was the Object Manipulation Realm mentioned by Housekeeper Wu, the True Qi within the body was immense, it could even be displayed externally to Retrieve objects from the air, use flying swords to wound others, and fly through the sky. The power far surpassed the first three realms.
Housekeeper Wu and those four grey-clothed elders, as well as his wife, were all in this realm.
True Qi Realm was also the ultimate limit that most Martial Path prodigies could reach in their lifetimes.
The Fifth Realm of the Martial Path was called the Grandmaster Realm. There was no fundamental difference between the Fifth and Fourth Realms, but what was different was that a Martial Arts Grandmaster had True Qi within their body as vast as the sea, and their mastery of True Qi had reached its Peak, they could even condense True Qi into weapons. Their martial techniques had also achieved the pinnacle, possessing the ability to establish their own Sect.
The leaders of the major Martial Arts Sects today were mostly at this realm.
Progression through each realm of the Martial Path presented different levels of difficulty, and it wasn't absolute that the further one went, the harder it became to advance. From Body Shaping to Inner Breath, and Inner Breath to True Qi, there were significant bottlenecks, with about a ten percent chance of breakthrough. But for those who could reach the True Qi Realm, there was a fifty percent chance to advance to the Object Manipulation Realm.
From the Fourth Realm of Object Manipulation to the Fifth Realm of Grandmasters, it no longer depended on physical talent and effort; it was more a test of one's understanding and insight. This was the largest threshold of the previous realms, with a promotion rate plummeting to perhaps one or two in a hundred.
The Sixth Realm of the Martial Path enabled one to initially harness the Power of Heaven and Earth. The most common moves in their hands could possess earth-shattering power. This realm was no longer limited to mere technique, but gradually connected to the very source of the Martial Path. Even across the entire Daxia, there weren't that many powerhouses in the Sixth Realm.
Therefore, when Li Nuo mentioned the Sixth Realm, Housekeeper Wu readily agreed to join him in the hereafter. The first five realms, no matter how powerful, still struggled against the strategy of overwhelming numbers. But at the Sixth Realm, being able to harness the Power of Heaven and Earth was not something that could easily be countered by mere numbers. Hence the saying, "Below the Sixth Realm, all are as ants."
As for the Seventh Realm, it has always been a matter of legend, shrouded in mystery, with very few details about the Seventh Realm circulating. Currently, in Daxia and other nations, no one has been heard to have reached this state; even Housekeeper Wu wasn't very clear about it.
The path of the Martial Arts was unthinkable for Li Nuo; Housekeeper Wu had cultivated for a lifetime and still stopped at the Fourth Realm. He could already be considered extremely talented. Li Nuo, without a sliver of talent, had to seek another way.
Fortunately, Legalism didn't discuss talent—as long as one handled enough cases, catching up quickly wasn't out of the question.
They soon arrived at the Chang'an County Government. The Government Official on duty at the door already recognized Li Nuo and jogged over, respectfully leading him in. Li Nuo noticed that the County Magistrate's Office was exceptionally lively today. Even from a distance, he saw that both inside and outside the hall were packed with people, making the entire place noisy with many constables and Government Officials maintaining order.
"Lord, it's past lunchtime now, when will you let us go back?"
"Indeed, arresting the murderer is fine, but you can't delay so many people's affairs, right?"
"If you won't let us go back, the government office should provide a meal, right? I haven't even had breakfast!"
"I still have duties to return to at the government office. If I'm delayed, can Lord Pei take the responsibility?"
...
The courtyard was packed with people, all clamoring noisily and causing a headache. Li Nuo asked the Government Official, "What's going on?"
The Government Official sighed and said with some helplessness, "Last night, a homicide occurred in our county, a wealthy merchant was murdered in his home. Coincidentally, he was celebrating his fiftieth birthday yesterday, and many guests stayed overnight at his home, so we had to bring them all to the County Government. The Lord has been questioning them all morning..."
"A murder case!"
Hearing this, Li Nuo's spirits suddenly soared.
A small theft case had allowed him to live six extra days.
If he could solve a murder case, wouldn't that be an outright skyrocket?
With this thought, he strode forward at almost a run, barely making it through the crowd to the entrance of the hall. Just as the Chang'an County Magistrate's gavel was about to fall, thinking he had already identified the murderer, Li Nuo's heart tightened, and he called out loudly, "Hold on, leave this to me!"