Chapter 241: The Grand Finale

  Outside the Tang Mansion's main gate, sixteen Tiger and Leopard Riders stood in a row.

  The black armor emits a cold light in the sunlight, and someone takes a few steps closer, they can feel an invisible aura that makes people want to retreat!

  The commotion at the Tang Mansion couldn't be hidden from those with keen eyes. In less than a moment, many people stopped in their tracks not far from the corner of the Tang Mansion, pointing and gesturing towards this side.

  "Did you see that? Who was the person who just entered the mansion? Liu, the outsider, has lived here for ten years, how could he suddenly sell this big house? I've heard that this mansion is a place of good feng shui, where people live in prosperity and wealth, those who do business become rich, those who study become famous, and those who hold office rise to high positions. I just can't understand why Liu would sell such a great mansion. He's not short on money, is he?"

  That person pointed to the entrance of the Tang Mansion and said that it was a great place, and then explained the heaven and earth, the five elements, and the eight trigrams surrounding the Tang Mansion. He told which direction was in charge of wealth and nobility, and which direction was in charge of fortune, one by one. If you didn't understand, you would have thought that a Feng Shui master was lecturing here.

  But just as he finished speaking, a scholar-like person suddenly burst out laughing: "Since you're willing to listen to his nonsense, why don't you use your own eyes to take a good look? Can a newcomer like him provoke the young master with the surname Liu?"

  The man with a bookish appearance looked to be around thirty years old, wearing a green robe, with a slightly pale complexion and three inches of black whiskers under his chin. He was smiling while stroking his own whiskers.

  He pointed to the sixteen knights at the gate and said, "This is the first strong army of our great Yan, the Tiger and Leopard Army. The one who just entered must be the master of the Tiger and Leopard Army. But everyone knows that the commander of the Tiger and Leopard Army, Yuan Wanli, is currently in the capital. So this person's identity is obvious! He is the current emperor's newly appointed Marquis Wuan, Tianjian Tang An!"

  "Okay?"

  An old neighbor heard this name and suddenly frowned. He always felt that the name was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.

  "I remember that the master of this mansion ten years ago was also surnamed Tang. That Mr. Tang was a kind and generous person, a well-known philanthropist in Zhongzhou City. I also remember that he had a weak and sickly son. All the doctors in Zhongzhou City said that it was a short-lived fate. Later, a great master came and performed a miraculous technique to reverse the fortune, and with great difficulty, the young boy survived. Now that you mention it, calculating his age, if it's indeed the young master of that family who has returned, he should be around 15 or 16 years old, not yet 20. And now that you say he also shares the surname Tang, I think this matter is probably true. It must be the young master returning home in glory!"

  Upon hearing this old neighbor's words, everyone else suddenly remembered. Ten years ago, there indeed was such a family.

  The neighbors who lived there for a long time all started saying that the family was indeed a rare good family, and they should have had a happy and peaceful life. But somehow, whether it was heaven's fault or what, this family suddenly disappeared. Now, thinking about it, it has been ten years already. Everyone is sighing, time is fleeting.

  At this moment, a middle-aged man suddenly emerged from the crowd. He was wearing a long gray work robe with several patches on it, and his face had a vegetable color, looking like he had lived a very hard life. Today, he was originally working in the fields outside the city, but earlier, he was instructed by his master to accompany the kitchen's young apprentice to buy some food ingredients in the city. At this moment, he happened to pass by the Tang Mansion and saw that the sign above the gate had suddenly changed its appearance. He didn't recognize the characters, but he vaguely felt that this plaque looked familiar.

  He had a feeling in his heart that these days of excitement and joy would surely bring some good news.

  As he drove by, he inadvertently overheard the conversation of those people. His heart suddenly skipped a beat: "Tang An, Tang An, isn't that the young master's name? Could it be that the young master has returned? Yes! He must have come back!"

  He thought of this, and didn't even care about the ox cart anymore. He jumped down in an instant, and with three steps that became two, he arrived at the gate of the mansion. With a fierce gesture, he was about to charge inside, having completely forgotten his fear of the long spears held by the tiger and leopard guards at the entrance.

  "Master, master, is it you who has returned?"

  Wang Er shouted with his mouth open, staring at the door with a eager expression. And in an instant, a purple long gown suddenly appeared at the door.

  Purple, that was the color the madam liked best before. Many of the young master's clothes were purple. The madam always said the young master looked fair and wearing purple made him look more charming and noble. Is that the young master? The young master has grown up to be quite handsome now! It's been ten years in the blink of an eye...

  As soon as he saw Tang An's face clearly, Wang Er's heart became even more excited.

  Tang An was handsome and indeed looked 70% like his mother, except that his face looked more resolute.

  Tang An had arrived in front of Wang Er, dressed in magnificent attire, with a jade crown on his head and golden threads embroidered on his long sleeves that shone brightly, truly beyond compare in wealth and nobility.

  "Master, is it really you who has returned? Am I not dreaming?" Wang Er's face was filled with excitement, but he paused and asked in a low voice, "And what about Master and Madam? Has Master's illness improved?"

  Tang An smiled slightly: "I'm back. My father and mother will also be back soon. Tomorrow, I'll go to Yangzhou to pick them up. Wang Ershu, ten years ago, you said that when I came back, you would still serve as my housekeeper. Is this promise still valid?"

  The emotions between people are really hard to describe. When Wang Er heard these words, he felt a wave of shame in his heart and tears welled up in his eyes. He immediately knelt down and knocked his head on the ground several times, leaving marks on his forehead when he got up again.

  "Young master, as long as you don't despise me for being clumsy and inept, I am willing to serve the Tang family as a house servant for my entire life."

  Tang An smiled and waved his hand, then pulled Wang Er up and entered the mansion.

  The little helper on the ox cart saw Wang Er suddenly run out, knocked a few heads, and was invited into the Tang Mansion by that young master. He was taken aback for a moment.

  "The master is still waiting for Wang Er's ingredients to go back and cook. What can be done about it?"

  That little kitchen helper thought of this and immediately ran up, wanting to pull Wang Er back. However, the tiger leopard soldiers at the door wouldn't let him in, and with just one glare, the little kitchen helper's legs went soft. He could only tug at his neck and shout loudly outside: "Wang Er, Wang Er..."

  Others burst out laughing when they saw this. Someone sighed, "Wang Er has been suffering for several years and is finally going to turn his luck around! If it weren't for his old father's serious illness and owing money to Zhang the landlord, who would be willing to work as a long-term laborer for the Zhang family? Not only do they earn little, but also get dirty and tired, and can't live in peace. Now that he has recognized such a powerful master, he should turn his luck around."

  "It's not like that... If I had to say it, this person is still a good Samaritan. Ten years ago, the Tang family was defeated, but now looking back, their wealth and nobility have increased more than tenfold. And as for Wang Er, he is a filial son who respects his father, a decent person. Although he suffered for a few years, now that he has relied on his backing to return, I'm afraid he won't have to suffer again."

  "Not only did he not have to suffer, but looking at Tang's young master's appearance, it seems that after Wang Er, even the governor would turn a blind eye to his actions in Zhongzhou City..."

  "Not bad, not bad. Lord Wu'an, the sixteenth marquis, this is a top-notch family in the world! In the future, when Magistrate Wang sees him, he might even have to smile and chat..."

  ……

  Inside the room

  Muhongyu temporarily transformed into a housekeeper, holding a large stack of account books, carefully checking the receipts collected by Xiaoxie along the way. Miao helped on the side, categorizing the receipts and arranging them neatly in boxes of various sizes that filled the room.

  Tang An pushed open the door and came in, suddenly feeling a flash of pearls and jade light before his eyes, dazzling him.

  Wang Er followed behind Tang An, seeing the room full of jewels, his eyes widened instantly, but he came to himself and immediately lowered his head, bowed and backed out of the door.

  Tang An sighed slightly in his heart when he saw this. "This Wang Er is not bad, and can be used with confidence in the future."

  Mu Hongyu saw Tang An enter, but only raised an eyebrow slightly before continuing to frantically calculate the assets.

  For the first time, she had so much wealth in her hands, and as she counted it all out one by one, Mu Hongyu's expression was also quite excited.

  But soon, Mu Hongyu threw up her hands and stopped counting. Because when the money reached a certain amount, it was just a matter of numbers. She counted for half a day, but was getting a headache from these numbers, feeling that having enough to eat and wear was already a blessing, and having more would be wasteful.

  "With so much money, I don't know how long we can use it... Tang An, I think you should hurry up and find a housekeeper for our family. We are all martial artists, these mundane matters, I won't interfere with."

  Mu Hongyu finished speaking and turned around, only to see Miao Miao carefully recording the accounts and making notes. Mu Hongyu suddenly had an idea: "Why not let Miao Miao take charge of these things from now on? Our family will definitely get bigger in the future, so it's better not to let outsiders control our assets."

  Tang An nodded slightly and said, "What you said is right. I'm back, and our Tang family will definitely be different from before. From now on, our family will only become stronger and more prosperous."

  Tang An said, and then took out the Hidden Dragon Jade Pendant from his bosom. He felt that there was a power hidden in this jade pendant that was even stronger than divine thought. When he touched this jade pendant, he only felt that the three Qīng Lóng cavities in his body were also slightly jumping, as if something was being attracted by the jade pendant.

  "Hidden Dragon Rising to Heaven, could this jade pendant be related to the Nine Dragons Dry Sky Technique? I see, this jade pendant is said to have originated from the Imperial Palace over a hundred years ago. Perhaps it's really related, who knows."

  But what exactly is the relationship, Tang An does not know.

  Just then, Tang An suddenly felt a shock in his mind, and a mechanical mixed sound was transmitted from his brain.

  It's the system's voice!

  "I have something to attend to, I'll be right back." Tang An said, and with a swift movement, he flashed out of the door and into the courtyard.

  "Ding~ System rebooted. Congratulations, host, for completing the Jianghu chapter of the High Hand system and successfully advancing to become a Tianjing strongman, securing a place in this world. Congratulations, host, for passing the system's test, possessing the heart of a strongman, cultivation speed increased by 10%."

  Congratulations to the host, who completed the random task "Emperor's Grand Banquet" during the system upgrade phase and defeated the famous master Xikunlun Dajiansheng, rewarding 100 reputation points.

  Congratulations, host! You have defeated the arch-nemesis Shu Shan Wang Ruitu, perfectly merging the Eight Styles of Killing Sword. The task of sword fusion is initially completed, reaching the peak of the Small Heavenly Realm. Your mental state has returned to normal, and you are rewarded with 200 reputation points.

  "Ding~ From today on, the system enters its second phase, the Tongtian task, and rewards 10 points of prestige. The current host has 500 points of prestige, which already meets the system's minimum requirement. The system opens the second layer of the Treasure Pavilion. The host can exchange for artifacts, spiritual instruments, and various elixirs with prestige here. Considering the host's current prestige accumulation situation, the system suggests that the host exchanges for a spiritual instrument."

  In this world, there are magical instruments and spiritual instruments. Tang An is aware of them. For example, the explosive crossbow arrows possessed by the four divine technique practitioners from Rongdi are a type of magical instrument. Magical instruments can carve powerful divine thoughts into special symbols to communicate with heaven and earth, forming extremely powerful magic techniques.

  The protective jade disc on Wang Ruitu's body is a spiritual instrument. The biggest difference between spiritual instruments and magical instruments is that spiritual instruments can connect with the owner's mind, making them more convenient to use, and they can also be stored in the body, making them easy to carry. Powerful spiritual instruments can even reverse life and death at critical moments.

  Tang An wasn't very interested in the law instrument. When using the law instrument, one still needed to recite incantations, and by the time the incantation was finished, he wouldn't even know how many swords had been thrust out already - this law instrument was like a chicken rib to him. However, the spirit instrument was different; it would come with just a wave of the hand, merging as one with his mind, and could be stored within his body in ordinary times. Moreover, its power was extraordinary.

  At the time of the great battle with Wang Ruitu, Tang An's Frost Sword was shattered. As a swordsman, he felt strange without a sword in his hand. However, no ordinary sword could withstand his killing intent, so he had to resort to practicing an empty-handed technique. Thinking of this, he hastily entered the System's Treasure Pavilion to search for a suitable spiritual artifact for himself.

  The first floor of the Treasure Pavilion has ordinary elixirs and secret manuals. Elixirs, Tang An doesn't need them. Secret manuals, he already has the Shu Mountain Sword Manual, which can be cultivated to the tenth level, and there's no demand for anything else. The cultivation methods in this world are all similar. When Tang An was with Yuan Wanli and others, he once asked about the secret manuals of the world, why they could only cultivate up to the fifth layer of the Heavenly Man, but when reaching the sixth layer of the Heavenly Realm, it was impossible to rely on cultivation to advance?

  Yu Wanli only said it was a law of thousands of years, but couldn't answer why.

  Tang An always felt that there were many things in the secret book that had not been explained clearly.

  For example, how to enlighten the divine thought into the heavenly realm, and how to nourish the divine thought so that it transforms into the divine soul entering the great heavenly realm.

  Tang An thought to himself, slightly shaking his head, thinking that even if someone knew, they would keep it to themselves and not spread it out. In this way, the path of cultivation seemed to still rely on oneself.

  In the second layer of the Treasure Pavilion, spiritual instruments were everywhere, emitting a five-colored, dazzling light. With just this light, Tang An could see the properties of these spiritual instruments. Generally speaking, those with red, surging lights were fire-attribute, while those with cyan halos were wind-attribute, and those with thick, yellow halos were earth-attribute, and then there were also blue water-attribute ones.

  Tang An read it through once, but his heart was full of curiosity.

  "What about earth, water, wind and fire? Why are there only spiritual artifacts with these four elemental attributes, but no spiritual artifacts with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth?"

  Tang An carefully examined these spiritual instruments, his brow furrowing gradually. He always felt that the properties of this spiritual instrument were hinting at something to him.

  Perhaps this world, from here on out, took a completely different path than what was in his heart.

  "If there were no Five Elements, then there would be no Yin and Yang. Without the harmony of Yin and Yang, how can life and death be interconnected? Did I really take the wrong path?"

  "No, not so! Wind and fire are compatible, it is the great calamity of heaven and earth, it is killing. Earth and water are compatible, it is nourishing all things, it is life. These four are all connected, it is life and death, it is the way of heaven. In this case, I can also explain the way of life and death, I have not gone wrong."

  Tang An suddenly understood and his tense mind slowly relaxed. Just then, a short sword in the spiritual instrument suddenly shone brightly.

  A blue halo suddenly surged up, wave after wave flowing incessantly.

  Tang Anxin suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment, and his mind leaned in to take a closer look. He saw that the broken sword was actually a high-quality spiritual artifact, but on the sword's body, only one word remained: "Stab".

  Tang An immediately pointed at him: "Good, it's you!" Suddenly, he felt that his body had gained something extra. His mind stirred and a short sword appeared in his hand. The sword was strange, only one chi three inches long, neither like a dagger nor a long sword... But when Tang An held it in his hand, it fit perfectly.

  "Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully purchased a high-quality spiritual instrument. 400 reputation points deducted. You still have 100 reputation points left. The system suggests that the host temporarily keep them."

  "Transcendence Chart is being manufactured... Once completed, the system will notify the host..."

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