Though Lu Jingteng was a bit slower, he also successfully broke through to the Peak of Anjin! Feeling the unprecedented power coursing through his body, he clenched his fists, his entire being trembling with excitement.
Luojin also broke through, advancing from Late-stage Mingjin to Early-stage Anjin!
Lu Yun watched them, a faint smile playing on his lips. Now, the Lu Family finally had two Grandmasters of Huajin who bore the Lu name.
One was Lu Jingjun. The other was the old butler, Lu Fu, who had served Lu Yun for decades.
Even in the Daxia New Country, a Grandmaster of Huajin was a top-tier expert.
Most of those warlords, the patriarchs of powerful families, and the reclusive old monsters were only at this realm.
Now the Lu Family had two of their own, plus Bai Longfei, a Half-Step Grandmaster of Divine Intent, and several Grandmaster advisors who could be summoned at a moment’s notice. He could finally rest a little easier.
"Very good. However, you must not grow impatient. On the path of Martial Arts, willpower is paramount. Otherwise, those vile demons will exploit any weakness to invade."
Lu Jingteng and the others knew exactly what Lu Yun meant. Everyone was terrified of the Outer Celestial Demons, beings that could possess a Martial Artist’s body.
Luojin, in particular, was reminded of the persistent voice in his head when he had eaten the Immortal Flesh.
"Eat it... Eat it..."
If he hadn’t been focused on giving the Immortal Flesh to his uncle-in-law, he feared he would have been possessed and turned into a monster.
Seeing their solemn expressions, Lu Yun smiled. "There’s no need to be overly frightened. The True Qi I infused with my Divine Will can remain in your bodies for some time."
Previously, when he was a Mid-stage Grandmaster of Divine Intent, this infused True Qi could last for about seven days.
Now that he had broken through to the Late-stage Grandmaster of Divine Intent realm, his power had grown severalfold, so it should last for about twenty days.
Hearing this, Lu Jingteng and the other three were greatly reassured. Lu Yun waved a dismissive hand at them.
"Alright, go and rest. Starting tomorrow, focus on consolidating your new realms."
The four replied in a powerful, unified voice, "Yes!"
「Two days later at the Lu Family estate.」
On this day, all the servants of the Lu Family were dressed in white.
Two white lanterns hung outside the main gate, while the doorframe was adorned with mourning couplets written in black ink on white paper. The entire estate was shrouded in a somber white.
Niu Dagang, who had sacrificed his life, was an orphan with no family to arrange his funeral. Therefore, it was held at the Lu Family estate.
The mourning hall was set up in the main hall, the most spacious room in the estate, normally reserved for receiving honored guests and hosting family banquets.
But now, the hall was filled with white funeral wreaths and draped with white mourning scrolls.
In the very center was a jet-black coffin. The coffin was made of the finest nanmu wood, its lid half-closed, revealing a section of the white burial shroud inside.
In front of the coffin stood Niu Dagang’s sandalwood spirit tablet, on which his name, Niu Dagang, was neatly carved.
The air in the mourning hall was thick with the mixed scent of sandalwood and burning joss paper, as incense smoke swirled and white banners fluttered.
The mourning hall was also packed with people, including members of the Lu Family and Niu Dagang’s junior martial brother in name, Yan Lintong.
Three men knelt at the very front. In the center was Lu Jingyao, his eyes sunken and his lips cracked. He looked so haggard he seemed to have aged a decade, his hair a disheveled mess.
One of his arms was in a cast, suspended in a sling across his chest. His face was a patchwork of fading black-and-blue bruises, and a scab had formed at the corner of his mouth.
To Lu Jingyao’s left knelt Lin Zequan, one of Lu Yun’s disciples, his chest tightly bound in bandages.
To his right knelt Chen Hu, another of Lu Yun’s disciples, his chest also wrapped in thick gauze.
Lu Jingyao, Niu Dagang, Lin Zequan, and Chen Hu. The four had been the closest of friends since childhood; they had even spent five years studying abroad together in France.
The friends had made a private pact: after returning from their studies, they would work together to change the nation, to make the Daxia New Country stronger and its people prosperous, safe, and content.
Yet now, Niu Dagang, the eldest of the four, had met a grisly end, his body left dismembered.
Lu Jingyao knelt in silence, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the spirit tablet.
But Lin Zequan, beside him, could no longer contain his grief, and tears streamed down his face.
"Brother Da Gang, we made a promise! We were going to watch the Daxia New Country get better and better together... How could you just be gone!"
Chen Hu, on the other side, also began to sob. "Brother Da Gang! Now that you’re gone, what are we supposed to do!"
Lu Jingteng and the others stood silently behind them, no one uttering a word.
Lu Yun remained seated in a chair to the left, his eyes closed. He was perfectly still, both hands resting on his Wisteria Spirit Staff.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yun slowly opened his eyes. "Very well. Let us begin."
At that moment, Niu Dagang’s funeral officially began. The jet-black coffin was slowly hoisted by eight sturdy men, who then carried it, step by step, toward the doors. Lu Jingyao and the others followed the coffin as it departed.
Thanks to Lu Yun’s reputation, land prices within a ten-kilometer radius of the Lu Family estate had long ago been driven sky-high.
The area housed the City Affairs Bureau and was the heart of the old city district, already making it the most prosperous part of Yun Port City. Now, with Lord Lu himself in residence, land prices were skyrocketing as if strapped to a rocket.
Previously worthless, dilapidated houses and ignored vacant lots were now fiercely fought over, becoming hot commodities overnight.
It made sense, after all. The area was home to the City Affairs Bureau, and most high-ranking officials lived there. As the center of the old district, it had everything one could need: hospitals, schools, shops, teahouses, and taverns.
Consequently, only the truly powerful families could hope to acquire even a small plot of land here.

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