Ch.20: Rumors
Winter lanterns hung from bronze hooks along the walls, their warm, pale light flickering softly enough to brighten the corridor but not enough to erase the shadows in the corners.
A faint breeze carried the earthy scent of the rear garden, where spirit beasts rested in their artificial habitats, some snoring, some huffing, some rustling their fur against spirit foliage.
It had been a few days since he returned from the forest, and honestly, it felt strange.
Almost uncomfortable.
He hadn't had a real "empty day" in… he couldn't even remember.
Everything these past weeks had been training, hunting, sparring, dodging, fighting, cultivating, or trying not to die.
Now, the sudden nothingness felt like walking into a room and forgetting why you came in.
He caught himself stopping mid-stride.
'Wait… I forgot to ask what exactly is happening in the city.'
He stared back at the study hall door for a long second.
Then shrugged.
'Whatever. I'll figure it out when I go outside. Fresh air will probably explain half the mystery anyway.'
He turned right, heading to his room.
After washing up, he changed into a clean white shirt and black trousers.
A black robe embroidered with fine silver lines draped over his shoulders, the threads catching the lantern light in subtle ripples.
At first glance, the clothes looked simple.
But the feel, the sheen, the smooth, cold touch of the fabric made it obvious, this wasn't everyday silk.
This was spirit-silk woven by a mutated silkworm-type martial soul.
Warm in winter. Cool in summer.
Flexible enough to train in.
Too expensive for common folk to afford.
Lu Sheng didn't dwell on it.
He'd been wearing fancy things since childhood; expensive didn't register as special anymore.
It was just clothes.
On his way out of his courtyard, he passed servants moving in a stream of activity.
Two carrying a heavy crate of spirit herbs, one reciting inventory numbers under their breath, a pair of guards discussing last night's patrol shift, a scribe running past with papers nearly falling out of their grip.
He nodded politely. They bowed deeply.
Everything looked normal.
Except… not quite.
Because several of them had the same flicker in their eyes, just before they looked away.
That faint "we know something you don't" sparkle.
The kind of look people have when a juicy rumor spreads faster than breakfast.
Lu Sheng caught it instantly.
'Ah… so something DID happen. And it's big. And recent.'
For a moment, he considered stopping one of them to ask.
But the thought faded when he remembered something more important.
His skill panel.
[Fighting Lv.12 (93%) → Lv.13 (28%)]
[Killing Intent Lv.16 (49%) → Lv.16 (94%)]
[Instincts Lv.16 (38%) → Lv.16 (83%)]
[Breathing Lv.24 (1%) → Lv.25 (1%)]
[Eating Lv.24 (1%) → Lv.25 (1%)]
[Reading Lv.16 (40%) → Lv.16 (90%)]
[Calligraphy Lv.21 (50%) → Lv.22 (50%)]
[Studying Lv.17 (30%) → Lv.18 (00%)]
[Memorizing Lv.17 (30%) → Lv.18 (00%)]
[Soul Power Control Lv.11 (59%) → Lv.12 (03%)]
[Soul Power Cultivation Lv.11 (59%) → Lv.12 (03%)]
[Spiritual Power Control Lv.10 (60%) → Lv.11 (00%)]
[Spiritual Power Cultivation Lv.10 (60%) → Lv.11 (00%)]
[Study of Medicine Lv.10 (20%) → Lv.10 (60%)]
[Guide Basics Technology Lv.10 (20%) → Lv.10 (60%)]
[Martial Arts Lv.7 (42%) → Lv.7 (72%)]
[Survival Lv.6 (25%) → 6 (75%)]
[Tracking Lv.8 (28%) → 8 (78%)]
[Cooking Lv.6 (98%) → 7 (37%)]
[Group Battle Lv.9 (56%) → 10 (10%)]
[Teamwork Lv.9 (48%) → 10 (02%)]
These skills were punctually leveling up daily.
A whole page of daily growth.
A whole page of steady improvement.
And a whole page of reasons not to break his training streak.
The numbers weren't the only thing changing.
The level-ups of the skills came with muscle memory, insights, and flashes of understanding, even the increase of talent, which can be felt in part that you were truly lacking innately.
Many things were happening with every level up; it even felt a bit unfair for the world.
But... who let him have the Easy Mode in life?
Even something as stupidly simple as the "Reading" skill now lets him analyze emotions, stress levels, posture, and micro-expressions of the people in one glance.
He didn't even have to talk to them to know they were buzzing with fresh gossip.
Just a few days ago, he had even realized that the percentage-type increase in the skill level was the greatest blessing.
He had it were to upgrading based on points wouldn't be as impactful.
For levels 1 to 2, it required just 100 exp points, but going further, 2 to 3, it was 200, and so on.
Till level 10 to 11, which required 1000 points, then from 11 to 12 it was again 1000, but further 12 to 13 it was 2000, and then kept increasing by 1000 exp.
A few skills of his had passed level 20, so he knew that at that stage the trend continued, with level 22 to 23 requiring 20,000 exp points!
At level 20, without using the innate talent function, he would have needed 2 or 3 weeks of constant training in the same skill for about 8 hours a day to increase his level by one if done the manual way.
And that time would still have kept on multiplying with an increase in required experience.
So, he had almost no intention of stopping training, even one of his skills, not even for one day.
Because if he stopped once, the astonishing speed of growth would also stop!
Realizing this truth quite a few days ago, he had developed a habit of doing training whenever he could.
And today was another time of experimenting with his Hunting and tracking skills.
(A/N: Stealth and info gathering by extension)
So he did that.
So he inhaled, relaxed his muscles, and let his presence melt into the background.
Anyone looking at him now would still see him, but their brain would skip right over him, like mist drifting across a path.
Vanishing behind the door as he kept following the group of servants, his breath controlled, even his presence diminishing.
You can call he had become 'Kato Megumi' of Soul Land.
And as expected, stories and rumors were being cooked, served, shared, and consumed all together here.
He followed the cluster of servants quietly as they descended to the ground floor.
Their chatter grew more animated the closer he got to the storage area near the kitchen.
In the storage room near the kitchen on the ground floor, maids gathered.
And among them, whispers floated.
Excited, animated, almost giddy whispers.
"…have you heard?"
"The young lady accepted a disciple!"
"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Sigh, that's the sad timing, isn't it? By the time the revelation ended, the child was already moved."
"Even people around were warned and had gifts sent to their houses, but no one is telling anything!" Another one said with an annoyed huff.
"But they ALL said the child is unbelievably cute!"
"Yes! Like a little dream spirit! A doll!"
"Still… do you think it's a girl or a boy?"
One maid looked around, indicating to the other servants to come closer, as if telling a secret.
"It's definitely a boy, my brother was there, he wouldn't lie to me. Not to mention, even the girls around looked dumbfounded after the incident."
"Way more good-looking than young master Lu Sheng!"
"…Eh?"
Lu Sheng blinked slowly.
Someone claiming to be more handsome than him wasn't the problem.
The problem was how confidently the maids said it.
It felt like he was being underestimated.
But he kept on listening.
"Really? We have a boy better looking than him in the city?"
Another maid hummed thoughtfully.
"Who knows, maybe it was someone recently moved into the city after all, people of distant villages are still joining us now and then."
"What about the martial spirit?"
"They say—"
Lu Sheng slowed and moved forward, trying to hear the hushed voices that kept getting lower and lower in frequency.
Still, he didn't turn his head.
Didn't break pace.
Just listened.
But what he at the end made him feel like it, rumors nowadays are getting out of hand.
And he just got out of the way, going outside to hear more such rumors to gather more info.
After all, no one will believe it if you tell them a person can awaken martial spirit on their own without the need of an awakening ceremony.
And that too with various visions of dragons, phoenixes, Qilins, and strange exotic cosmic beasts, and even Immortals appearing in the sky, bowing towards the one awakening martial spirit spirit like greeting their lord.
He closed his eyes.
'Yeah, no. Definitely out of hand.'
After all, this was not an immortal cultivation world.
At most, Douluo was a world somewhere between Xanxia and Wuxia.
Xanxia without godlike powers and Wuxia without martial arts.
"Ugh, why does it sound like I am insulting the world I am in. No matter, this is it for this place. I will gather more information from outside."
He rubbed his temples.
'Whatever. Time to leave before I overthink.' He thought his eyes sharp.
His figure blurred, and in the next second, he was gone—vanishing into the city like a gust of cold wind.