Book 2 - Fame Spreads - Chapter 45.1 - Lu Xinwen

In the spacious room, there was a warm furnace rich with firewood inside, causing the temperature of the room compared to that of the outside to be simply as if two different worlds.
However, at this moment, Fan Shui felt a bone-chilling cold.
In his room, unbeknownst to anybody, there was suddenly one more individual.
This man’s hair at the temples was faintly white but eyes were clear and somewhat strict. His face, which carried a faint purple-brown color, temples, cheeks, rim of the eyes, and earlobes exuded an abnormally full feeling, as if filled with a strange vitality and liveliness. His pointed, rectangular face starkly highlighted his thin lips, and the corners of his mouth were obstinately concentrated downwards and pursed to the inside.
His eyes coldly watched Fan Shui, as if this tenth layer expert didn’t have the slightest difference compared to a beggar at the roadside and was completely incapable of moving him.
It was these cold eyes that caused Fan Shui’s heart to be filled with astonishment and an indescribable dread.
As the clan leader of the Fan family, he was obviously a knowledgeable and experienced person. Moreover, being able to become a peak Houtian, tenth layer expert before the age of sixty, his talent and efforts were far beyond an ordinary person’s imagination.
At the same time, in order to build up Fan family, he’d gained friendship of many highly skilled figures. For instance, Xiao brothers were his friends whom he’d spared no efforts to rope in.
However, for all the friends he’d made, he’d never encountered an individual with such unfathomable depths. He didn’t even know when this person entered his room.
After pulling his son, Fan Vastsun, behind his body, he opened his legs, assuming a stance that would allow him to advance if he wished to attack or defend if he wished to retreat and calmly asked, “Who are you, Sir? What brings you to Fan residence?”
Fan Vastsun sneakingly glanced from behind his father’s back. The astonishment in his heart was no less than that of his father. This was actually the first time he’d seen such a fear-stricken expression on his father’s face.
He’d always believed that his father was a man who could support the heavens and earth- Zheng Tong county’s uncontested tenth layer expert who wouldn’t falter even if Mount Tai collapsed before him. Therefore, when his father revealed a terrified expression, his heart was also filled with billowing waves of astonishment.
The strange man with somewhat white hair but exceptional vitality neither replied nor continued to look at them, but turned around and went to the center of the room, and sat down on the big chair there.
His movements were not quick at all, but still made the father and son feel heavy in their hearts.
“The words you just said….are correct.”
He slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, but contained a power that could make one feel fear.
Fan Shui blankly stared. These words were as relevant compared to what he’d asked as a horse’s jaws with a bull’s head.
Cautiously and solemnly, he respectfully asked, “Sir, you mean….”
“Old man’s two disciples will indeed not abandon a comrade in the face of a battle.”
Fan Shui sucked in a breath of cold air as he suddenly realized, “You…you are the master of Xiao brothers?”
The man coldly said, “What, those two little guys didn’t tell you?”
Fan Shui hesitated a bit, drew his two legs closer again, and respectfully said, “Senior, those two never mentioned of senior before this junior. They said that only after their Internal Energy attains the tenth layer will they have the qualifications to proclaim their master’s reputation under the heavens.”
These words although seemed somewhat strange, he was telling raw truth.
Previously, Fan Shui had made many indirect attempts to probe Xiao brothers, but the two brothers had always replied with these words in a resolute tone.
If an ordinary ninth layer were to speak such words, Fan Shui would never have believed.
Tenth layer- this was the peak that a cultivator of Houtian realm could attain. There were many ninth layer cultivators, but how many among them could guarantee that they would definitely cross the last bottleneck and attain the tenth layer?
However, the Xiao brothers were different. Not only they had incomparably precious armguards, they had evidently learned a Xiantian battle skill as well.
If they had spoken as such, it hardly left any room of skepticism.
Fan Shui had made a lot of guesses, even thinking that their master was perhaps a Xiantian realm cultivator.
However, it was merely a guess. After all, Xiantian realm’s cultivators were too far away from him.
However, after seeing this strange man, his heart frantically throbbed.
Perhaps, his previous guess was not wrong after all…
That man eventually revealed a trace of smile at the corner of his mouth, appearing to be quite pleased with these words.
Seeing this smile, which brimmed with confidence, Fan Shui’s heart slightly sank.
His bearing turned even more respectful as he said, “Junior Fan Shui has been acquainted with the two Xiao brothers for several years, and we are as close as brothers. May I ask senior’s noble name? If possible, stay in my humble home. Junior will try his best to serve senior’s needs in the stead of your disciples.”
The man faintly started, then laughed in spite of himself and proudly announced, “I am old man, Lu Xinwen.”
The father and son faintly trembled.
He Yiming didn’t know this name, but how could the father and son who had grown up on the lands of Gold Forest country not know this name that symbolized terror.
His notorious reputation of slaughtering a thousand people in a span of one day could cause any power to shudder.
Unless Xiantian cultivators fought with their lives without retreating, Houtian cultivators would never be able to kill them regardless of their numbers, and for Xiantian cultivators, unless the number of Houtian cultivators reached a frightening number, they posed no threat to them at all.
In other words, relying on their own individual strength, Xiantian cultivators could see human lives as nothing more than weeds.
Fan Shui’s face slightly twitched a few times as he promptly said, “So it’s actually senior Lu. Junior had no idea, please pardon me, senior.”
Lu Xinwen waved and said, “It’s fine. Since you are an old friend of those two disciples of mine, I will not make things harder for you.” After saying these words, his vision fell on Fan Vastsun before he suddenly said, “You, are you really afraid of this old man?”
Fan Shui’s heart strictened. The mood of these Xiantian cultivators was extremely hard to predict. If Vastsun didn’t deal with the situation properly, it would be extremely disastrous.
However, although Fan Vastsun was nervous to death, he was still extremely clear-headed. He took one step forward, walking out from behind his father’s body, bent down to his knees and heavily kowtowed, “Great granduncle, I’ve been scared a few moments ago, but now, I’m not.”
Lu Xinwen observed him with interest. He didn’t go to support him up and instead asked, “And why is that?”
“I’ve previously heard of your reputation, that’s why I felt scared. However, then I thought that you are the master of the Xiao uncles, and immediately lost fear.” When Fan Vastsun spoke the first line, he’d been somewhat trembling. However, during the subsequent line, he’d been quick and fluent, showing that he’d only said what was in his mind. There were no tricks involved.
Lu Xinwen’s eyes revealed a trace of pleased expression, “Good. Your conduct is quite astute, and you are courageous as well. Barely over twenty and yet have already attained the seventh layer, and more importantly, you haven’t consumed any gold core. Such a talent is already none in a thousand.”
Fan Vastsun’s heart faintly trembled. With the arrival of good fortune, his mind completely cleared as he immediately heavily kowtowed; his head issuing a crisp sound as it touched the ground. When he lifted his head again, his forehead had a small patch of red, evidently because he’d not used Internal Energy.