10: The speed of cultivation is frightening.

Just past midnight, the moonlight was like water. Situ Jun stepped on the silver-like ground, silently returning to the Manor Soldiers' quarters.

In the distance, the night watch drum sounded heavy; the entire manor was immersed in the quiet night.

Liu Xuaner's courtyard was already dark; she must have fallen asleep.

It seemed impossible to get close to her again today.

Cui Zhu and Chun Hua were on duty in the outer room, and there were Manor Soldiers patrolling outside the courtyard. The security was tight, and since he had no other business in the inner courtyard, he simply went back to his quarters.

There were two other Manor Soldiers in the small courtyard. Situ Jun had only met them once; they were both from the manor's patrol team. After a brief greeting back then, they hadn't had much interaction.

At this moment, seeing their residence still lit from afar, a flicker of doubt crossed Situ Jun's mind, but he quickly put it behind him.

Back in his room, Situ Jun took out a body tempering pill and sat cross-legged.

The Medicinal Pill melted in his mouth, turning into a stream of heat that circulated through his body.

In an instant, visible wisps of worldly spiritual energy surged in like a tide, swirling around him. Throughout the night, it was silent, save for the faint sound of spiritual energy tempering his body.

When the first ray of morning light pierced the night sky, Situ Jun slowly opened his eyes.

After a night of sitting in Cultivation, he felt no fatigue or sleepiness at all; instead, his whole body felt clear, filled with power, and his strength had quietly grown.

Before he could get up to open the door, a series of urgent knocks sounded. Situ Jun opened the door to find his two neighbors standing there with grave expressions.

"Is something the matter?"

Situ Jun asked with a look of confusion.

The Manor Soldier surnamed Zhang looked left and right, then asked in a low voice:

"Did Brother Situ offend Manor Troop Captain Zhao Chengwu?"

Situ Jun was slightly taken aback. The scenes from the day before yesterday quickly flashed through his mind, and he immediately asked:

"It seems so. His men were collecting silver, and I didn't pay."

The Manor Soldier surnamed He sighed and shook his head:

"Sigh, Brother Situ, it's just 300 taels—three months' salary. You should have just gritted your teeth and given it to them; there's no need to go against them."

Yesterday he asked us about you and said he'd come by at noon today to teach you a lesson. So we came specifically to let you know. Take care of yourself."

"The captains in the manor are all Cultivators; we can't afford to provoke them. We're off to patrol now."

After saying this, the Manor Soldier surnamed Zhang turned and left in a hurry.

Watching their retreating backs, a faint smile curled at the corners of Situ Jun's mouth.

A mere Manor Troop Captain wasn't enough to worry him.

After a quick wash, Situ Jun went to Liu Xuaner's courtyard for patrol as usual, and then checked the courtyards of the other three concubines in the West Courtyard in turn.

Afterward, using questions about Cultivation as an excuse, he asked Steward Wang for a cup of tea and chatted for a while.

Time passed unknowingly, and soon it was noon.

Situ Jun unhurriedly returned to his quarters, prepared to meet this legendary Zhao Chengwu.

As soon as he stepped into the small courtyard, he saw several people sitting there.

The leader sat in a chair, his posture upright, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, radiating a sense of pressure.

"Kid, you're finally back."

A voice full of hatred rang out.

Situ Jun looked toward the source of the voice; it was one of the men who had come to collect silver the day before yesterday.

"For a mere 300 taels, is there really a need for such a big fuss?"

Situ Jun smiled and slowly walked into the courtyard.

"300 taels wouldn't be enough to make me come here, but you hit my men and ignored my face!"

Zhao Chengwu suddenly stood up, spiritual energy surging around him, causing ripples in the air.

Situ Jun's heart tightened as he keenly sensed that this was a Cultivator at the Late Stage of Body Refining! Zhao Chengwu was burly and aggressive, making people feel intimidated.

"I am the Manor Troop Captain appointed by Madam Liu Xuaner. You dare to move against me?"

Situ Jun said with a serious expression and a firm gaze.

Zhao Chengwu sneered:

"Madam Liu's Manor Troop Captain? A servant who just became a Manor Soldier, becoming a captain? Stop lying! I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of Madam Liu for talking nonsense in her name! Everyone, attack!"

At Zhao Chengwu's command, the men quickly surrounded Situ Jun.

Zhao Chengwu took the lead, rushing at Situ Jun like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

Situ Jun remained calm, his figure flickering as he performed the Roaming Dragon Movement Technique.

His figure moved like a ghost, weaving behind the other three men. With a few "thuds," the three were kicked to the ground in a pathetic state.

Zhao Chengwu stopped, rubbing his reddened fists, his face full of shock:

"You are also a Body Refining Cultivator? How is that possible?"

Situ Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but remained relaxed on the surface:

"I told you I was Madam Liu's Manor Troop Captain, but you wouldn't believe me."

Zhao Chengwu finally realized that the Situ Jun before him was not only a genuine Manor Troop Captain but also had strength equal to his own. For a moment, he was stuck in a difficult position, his face full of frustration.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Chengwu stopped his attack and said in a muffled voice:

"We were in the wrong this time. Tell us how you want to settle this."

Situ Jun was somewhat surprised by his decisiveness. Adhering to the principle that less trouble is better than more, he said:

"Leave 300 taels and you can go."

Zhao Chengwu's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"What, do you want another fight?"

Situ Jun raised an eyebrow and looked playfully at the other three who had just scrambled up.

"No discord, no concord. Here is 500 taels. We're leaving."

Zhao Chengwu took out five hundred-tael banknotes printed with special cultivation symbols and handed them to Situ Jun.

Situ Jun took the banknotes, stuffed them casually into his robe, and waved them off.

Watching their retreating backs, he thought to himself that this manor didn't seem peaceful, and there would likely be many more challenges in the days ahead.

In the following days, Situ Jun spent his days patrolling various corners of the manor and his nights guarding outside Liu Xuaner's Qinfang Courtyard.

The copper bells on the eaves chimed softly in the night wind. He looked at the brightly lit inner courtyard, burying his thoughts in the spiritual energy circulating in his Dantian.

Liu Xuaner's movements became increasingly mysterious.

When the first light of dawn appeared, her carriage would roll over the bluestone slabs and leave in a hurry, only returning at dusk draped in starlight.

Every time Situ Jun guarded the inner courtyard entrance, she would return in a rush, her moon-white skirt embroidered with silver threads sweeping across the ground before she vanished behind the moon gate.

He could only stare at the empty corridor, swallowing his curiosity.

The only thing that excited him was his Breakthrough in cultivation.

When the spiritual energy surged like a raging tide through his Meridians, breaking through the shackles of the Eighth Level of Body Refining, Situ Jun was seized by a sudden sense of unease.

Sitting alone by the window late at night, he repeatedly checked the System panel—no special spiritual body, no ancient Spiritual Vein. Why was his Cultivation speed even faster than taking medicine?

The next day.

"Steward Wang, do you think... there are people in this world who can Cultivate at lightning speed without a Spiritual Vein?"

Situ Jun held a cup of fresh tea and asked as if casually.

The old steward's hand stroking the teacup paused, his cloudy gaze piercing through the curling tea aroma:

"Unless they consume thousand-year Spirit Medicine or are born with an Innate Dao Body... how could an ordinary Cultivator have such luck?"

These words struck Situ Jun's heart like a heavy hammer.

In less than two months, he had gone from a worldly Martial Artist to a Breakthrough to the Eighth Level of Body Refining. This speed was truly terrifying.

He clearly remembered that the System panel explicitly showed—no special spiritual body, no rare Spiritual Vein.

"Why do you ask, young friend? There are indeed a few noble people in the manor who are born with spiritual bodies..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a servant's summons.

In the middle of the night, he paced by the window clutching an unused body tempering pill. The moonlight made the pill look as clear as glass, and a faint fragrance wafted from it.

Finally, he locked the pill in a sandalwood box, thinking:

"If I don't have a clue, I'd better not touch it lightly, lest something goes wrong with my Cultivation."

This day, Chun Hua's slender figure suddenly appeared at the courtyard gate.

The jasmine at her temple was wet with morning dew as she said, out of breath:

"Situ Jun, come in for a moment."

The moment he crossed the threshold, a familiar sandalwood scent greeted him.

Over the past month or so, although Situ Jun often entered and exited the inner courtyard, he had never stepped into this inner room.

The gilded candle holders were draped with shark-silk gauze, and behind the Xiangfei bamboo curtains, a landscape screen was faintly visible. The bed curtains were half-drawn, and Liu Xuaner's embroidered shoes were placed casually on the green jade footstool, showing a bit of messy laziness.

In the past, he would help with some heavy chores.

Like going to the kitchen to fetch bathwater, helping to move the bathtub, transporting fertilizer elsewhere, or moving the carved lounge chair under the parasol tree.

His relationship with Cui Zhu and Chun Hua had also improved a lot.

When Liu Xuaner was away, the sound of silver-bell-like laughter often wafted through the courtyard. Occasionally, when joking with Cui Zhu, Chun Hua would secretly slip him a piece of osmanthus cake.

Standing outside the bead curtain now, Situ Jun suddenly felt a bit awkward.

"Madam Liu has been busy with Chamber of Commerce matters lately. As her Guard, you can't go with her, haha..."

Chun Hua handed him a damp cloth, gesturing for him to wipe the curio shelf in the corner.

"The Suxin Orchid from the other day has withered, and we need someone to go to the flower market to buy a new one."

As Situ Jun took the cloth, he caught sight of the flower pot in the corner; the leaves of a withered orchid had turned yellow.