Chapter Thirteen: The Demon's Resonance—Where to Go, Only the Heart Knows (Part One)

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Zhou Baiwei had a great deal she wanted to complain about, but somehow forced it all back down. Her expression became exceedingly strange.

“How do you intend to go about this? The things that could catch your eye are probably the secret arts of famous masters from the great schools. Acquiring such inheritances will not be easy. They are the lifeblood of every tradition. Even someone of your stature, a master who has attained sainthood through the flesh, would not be granted them lightly.”

“Our Special Security Bureau can help you contact some of the major schools, but you would probably have to formally become a disciple—at the very least, you would have to go through the motions publicly.”

After adjusting her state of mind, Zhou Baiwei continued.

This was the Information Age. A quick search online could turn up diagrams of techniques from countless schools, but none of those represented genuine martial arts.

The true core methods—secret elixirs, breath cultivation, meditation, and the realization of true intent—remained closely guarded secrets, firmly controlled by the various traditions and never shown to outsiders without good reason.

Many of the schools that possessed such powerful esoteric teachings had produced masters who attained sainthood through the flesh in generations past. The strength and social influence they had accumulated over the years were immense.

Moreover, martial artists had always been proud and unyielding. As the saying went, poverty could not sway them, and force could not bend them. Even if someone who had attained sainthood through the flesh demanded it, they could not simply hand over their secret teachings. Otherwise, their school’s reputation would be ruined, and they would have no face to meet their ancestors.

Thus, even though the Special Security Bureau oversaw martial cultivation throughout the country, it still had to negotiate carefully over matters like this. It could not settle everything with a single decree.

“There’s no need. That would be too troublesome.”

Yi Beidou shook his head and refused.

Become a disciple of a sect?

Even if it were merely nominal, it would inevitably bring endless complications.

Entangled karma was difficult to sever, even for one who had attained sainthood through the flesh.

“This is already the quickest method. What else do you intend to do?” Zhou Baiwei could not help saying.

“That is not something you need to worry about. I have my own methods.”

Yi Beidou said no more.

When ordinary people studied martial arts, they had to master each movement one at a time, regulate their breathing, and progress step by step. At every stage, they needed the correct secret teachings to guide them.

But Yi Beidou was different. He himself was a master who had attained sainthood through the flesh, and he had also cultivated the extraordinary Free-Heart Formula. His brain had been developed far beyond the limits of ordinary people, to a degree that could not be measured by common sense.

It was like an immortal descending into the mortal world. Naturally, learning mortal martial arts would be effortless.

All he lacked was accumulation.

They were unwilling to teach him?

It did not matter. If he fought through every technique once, he would naturally learn it.

After all, he had been born a demon. He had never been a good man, nor had he ever dreamed of becoming a revered grandmaster.

“All right. I have already shown you enough consideration today. There is no need to ask anything else. As I said, if you want a serious discussion, bring someone who is my equal.”

Seeing that Zhou Baiwei still wanted to say something, Yi Beidou waved a hand and cut her off, choking back whatever words she had been about to utter. He turned and walked into the house.

Damn it. This man really was utterly lacking in human feeling!

Zhou Baiwei ground her pearly teeth together. Among people her own age, who would dare speak to her like that? Even the young masters and ladies of the capital’s most powerful families treated her with the utmost respect. Which of them had she not beaten up before?

Yet when it came to Yi Beidou, she could not summon even the slightest bit of indignation. In front of him, she felt like nothing more than a little girl who could only act spoiled and adorable—much as she did before her elders, men and women in their seventies and eighties who held immense power.

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Still, given his identity, he truly had every right to behave that way.

Those young masters in the capital relied on nothing more than the protection their ancestors had left them. How could they compare with a living immortal?

Even their fathers would have found it difficult to stand beside him as equals.

Elsewhere.

The meeting in the conference room was drawing to a close. After reaching suitable agreements with Xu Yao, many members of the Xu family took their leave. Each had shown an appropriate degree of sincerity, but genuine cooperation could not be established in a single moment.

They needed to thoroughly understand Xu Yao, Yi Beidou, and that Zhou Baiwei before they could finalize anything.

As for Xu Guанren, the head of the senior branch, he had vanished after Yi Beidou left the conference room. Presumably, he intended to use every connection and ounce of influence at his disposal to launch a counterattack.

But before long, he would learn exactly what it meant to strike an egg against a rock.

The conference room gradually emptied. Soon, only Xu Yao and her daughter, Xu Zifu, remained. They looked at each other, both seeing a trace of unreality in the other’s eyes.

What had happened that day was simply too dreamlike. It had far surpassed their worldview and their ability to comprehend.

Clack!

Just then, a sound came from the doorway. A handsome middle-aged man with bandages wrapped around his hands entered the conference room.

“Old Xiao! How are you?” Xu Yao hurriedly rose.

Once the situation had stabilized and Yi Beidou had taken charge, Xiao Taiming had left the conference room to have his injuries treated.

“I’m all right. My tendons and bones were displaced, but nothing fundamental was damaged. I’ll probably need several months of rest to recover completely. I’m sorry, A-Yao. I wasn’t able to help this time.”

Xiao Taiming sounded somewhat apologetic.

“What kind of outsider would I be if I said such things to you?”

Xu Yao gently stroked his bandaged arm, her eyes filled with concern.

“Mother, Uncle Xiao, when are you two getting married?”

Unable to bear watching the pair continue their affectionate display, Xu Zifu suddenly spoke from the side. The two of them immediately sprang apart as if shocked by electricity, each blushing furiously.

“You shameless girl! Must you stick your nose into everything?”

Xu Yao, embarrassed and angry, smacked Xu Zifu on the head. She then turned toward Xiao Taiming, her expression becoming solemn.

“Old Xiao, tell me—what exactly is going on with Beidou?”

Xu Yao asked in a low voice.

At the mention of this subject, Xiao Taiming’s expression became extremely strange.

There was disbelief in his eyes, along with intense awe, longing, admiration, and reverence.

“Your Beidou… I truly don’t know how to describe him. You must have heard of the immortals, arhats, and bodhisattvas of ancient times?”

“Those legendary figures were probably no more extraordinary than this. A man who has attained sainthood through the flesh, an enlightened master rarely seen beneath heaven. Perhaps some great sage of virtue has been reincarnated into your Xu family, spending twenty years undergoing tribulation before achieving success in a single day?”

Xiao Taiming considered his words repeatedly before finally speaking.

He had seen Yi Beidou before, but at the time he had merely assumed that the young man’s apparent dullness was the result of autism. He was tall, broad, and in good physical condition, but otherwise seemed entirely ordinary.

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Looking back now, that so-called autism must have been the result of an immortal undergoing tribulation.

A banished immortal had fallen into the mortal world, passed through his tribulations, and reforged his golden body. The myths of ancient times had not been baseless after all.

Hearing Xiao Taiming’s words, Xu Yao and Xu Zifu were speechless for a time.

Every parent wished for their child to rise above the ordinary. In a common household, some hoped their child would become a doctor, others a lawyer. Even wealthy families generally hoped their children would become great politicians, artists, or entrepreneurs. But who would dare hope that their child would become an immortal or a bodhisattva?

They would need time to accept this reality.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the doorway, and Yi Beidou entered the conference room.

“Beidou, the various branches of the Xu family have all expressed their willingness to support us, unite under one banner, and pursue deeper cooperation. This is a wonderful opportunity. Especially now that you are here to oversee matters, how do you think the company should develop from this point onward?”

After giving the matter some consideration, Xu Yao asked Yi Beidou cautiously. Her tone and attitude were completely different from the casual manner in which she had previously addressed him as a younger relative.

Xu Zifu opened her mouth from the side, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

What Yi Beidou had done that day—especially the sight of him killing a man with a single palm as casually as crushing an insect—remained deeply engraved in her mind. She understood that the person standing before her was no longer the relative she had once known. Even her mother was addressing him with a solemnity she had never shown before.

Sensing the subtle change in their attitudes, Yi Beidou remained as calm as an ancient well. He had expected this long ago.

As one’s identity changed, human relationships changed with it. Sometimes, they even became distorted.

Mortals and immortals belonged to different worlds. That was why the first thing cultivators had to do was sever their emotional attachments.

Yi Beidou did not care. He acted entirely according to his own will.

“Aunt, I have no interest in worldly affairs. There is no need to tell me about these matters. With my protection, so long as I remain alive and my spirit does not perish, the family business should prosper without difficulty. But you should also understand that when fullness reaches its limit, it overflows, and excess is as harmful as deficiency. Proceed steadily and cautiously. Do not forget morality for the sake of profit, and do not rush blindly ahead. As the company develops, it must give back to society. Only by joining the strength of many can one achieve true success. Otherwise, no matter how much money you make, it will ultimately be meaningless.”

“Most importantly, you must restrain the members of the family. They must not commit evil in my name. If I learn that they have done so, I will personally act and purge the family.”

Yi Beidou had no intention of severing his family ties. As long as he remained alive, he was confident that he could protect them all.

Besides, wealth, territory, teachings, and companions were the four great essentials of cultivation. To travel the world, one absolutely needed financial strength. In that sense, this arrangement could be considered mutually beneficial.

“Your aunt understands.”

Xu Yao nodded solemnly.

“All right, Aunt. The matter here is settled, and I still have things of my own to attend to. I will take my leave. If anything comes up in the future, you can contact me by phone.”

Yi Beidou spoke, and then everyone felt a gentle breeze sweep through the conference room. Yi Beidou had already vanished like smoke among the clouds.

At that moment, Xu Yao and Xu Zifu understood even more deeply what Xiao Taiming had meant by immortals and bodhisattvas.

“I wonder what someone like Cousin intends to do.”

Xu Zifu could not help saying.

“How could someone of his stature be within the reach of your or my imagination?”

Xiao Taiming sighed.

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