The days passed as Xiaoming listened to Liu Dayong recount the past, his fascination growing with each passing moment, until the entire day had slipped away unnoticed.
The wedding banquet drew ever closer, and more and more guests began to arrive at the Nangong Manor. The chefs, too, commenced their busy preparations.
Xiaoming and his two companions, Luo Tianshui and Ye Mei, found themselves working in the kitchen under Liu Dayong’s direction. Liu Dayong, as the head chef, rarely engaged in hands-on cooking. Luo Tianshui and Ye Mei, possessing no culinary skills, were relegated to assisting with menial tasks like washing vegetables.
Xiaoming, feigning the role of a master chef under Liu Dayong, carried his Xuan Tie cleaver wrapped in cloth and swaggered about, projecting an air of culinary authority.
The kitchen overseen by Liu Dayong typically prepared a limited number of dishes, catering to the most esteemed guests of the Nangong family. Currently, their responsibility extended to the meals for just over thirty individuals, all of whom were from the Island Nation.
Liu Dayong usually confined himself to giving instructions, rarely participating directly in the cooking. During his downtime, he would share stories of the past of the Kuang Dao Sect with Xiaoming.
On the second day of their work in the kitchen, shortly after Xiaoming had finished his meal and was listening to Liu Dayong’s tales, eight middle-aged men approached them.
These eight middle-aged men were all stout, with large heads and ears, each dressed in loose-fitting suits that swayed with their gait.
“Dayong, we heard you met the Young Master?” one of the stout men inquired.
Liu Dayong smiled and nodded, pointing to Xiaoming without uttering a word.
The eight stout men lined up and knelt before Xiaoming, clasping their fists and speaking in unison, “The eight patriarchs of the Kuang Dao Sect pay their respects to the Young Master.”
The Kuang Dao Sect’s lineage had been passed down through eight individuals, hence its alternative name, the Eight Sects of Kuang Dao. Each of these eight men represented a distinct lineage of saber techniques.
Upon seeing the eight stout men, Xiaoming was taken aback and quickly stood up, saying, “Please, there’s no need for such formality. Rise.”
The eight men stood up, facing Xiaoming. They exchanged glances between Liu Dayong and Xiaoming, and one of the stout men suggested, “Young Master, perhaps we should discuss this at your quarters.”
The eight men followed Xiaoming and Liu Dayong to their living quarters. Liu Dayong remained by the entrance while the eight men began to question Xiaoming about his plans.
Xiaoming shook his head and replied, “I have no specific plans. I must wait for Brother Long to arrive. My primary objective is to cooperate with him and assist him in leaving the Nangong family.”
The Nangong family, though formidable among secular sects and clans, was insignificant in the eyes of the hidden sects.
While the Kuang Dao Sect was not among the largest of the hidden sects, it did not hold the Nangong family in high regard.
“Gentlemen, I’ve heard that the Nangong family possesses two experts at the Heaven Realm, and also a considerable number of practitioners at the Great Perfection of the Earth Realm,” Xiaoming remarked.
The eight men nodded in unison. Liu Daming, the inheritor of ‘Blood Colored Mad Saber,’ stated, “Young Master, do not concern yourself with that. It’s merely the Nangong family. The eight of us working together should be sufficient to contend with two Heaven Realm experts.”
Liu Daming was the successor of ‘Blood Colored Mad Saber,’ a technique he had passed down to his kinsman, Liu Dayong. Although Liu Dayong was of the same generation, he was not his disciple in the formal sense, yet their relationship was akin to that of master and apprentice.
“As long as you can keep the two Heaven Realm experts occupied, the rest of us will devise a plan,” Xiaoming said.
At this moment, Xiaoming was unaware that a large contingent of experts from around the world was converging on Funiu Town. He believed that merely suppressing the Nangong family’s strength would suffice for Long Xiao to escort Luan Jiping away.
The eight men, all master chefs, were stationed in different kitchens within the Nangong Manor. Xiaoming had not yet ascertained Luan Jiping’s current whereabouts, and with the arrival of the eight patriarchs, he decided to assign them this task.
As the Nangong Manor became increasingly crowded and the kitchens grew busier, Xiaoming and Liu Dayong also found themselves fully occupied.
Despite possessing the Xuan Tie cleaver, Xiaoming lacked proficiency in saber techniques. The eight saber techniques of the Kuang Dao Sect were all derived from a single set of specialized saber techniques for the Xuan Tie cleaver.
After two days of cooking alongside Liu Dayong, the latter discovered that Xiaoming possessed a natural talent for culinary arts. He grasped any saber technique related to cooking with remarkable speed.
Observing Xiaoming’s swift and intricate vegetable cutting, Liu Dayong felt inclined to pass on the ‘Blood Colored Mad Saber’ technique to him.
Upon inquiring with Liu Daming, Xiaoming received no objection. After all, the saber techniques had originated from Xiaoming’s ancestors, and their transmission to him could be considered a form of repatriation.
Upon learning that Liu Dayong intended to impart the ‘Blood Colored Mad Saber’ to Xiaoming, the other seven patriarchs declared their intention to also pass on their respective saber techniques to him.
This development further occupied Xiaoming’s time. He spent a full day learning the ‘Blood Colored Mad Saber’ from Liu Dayong, and then only half a day with each of the other masters to learn their techniques.
Xiaoming was exceptionally intelligent, and his abundant life force served as a powerful support. Moreover, the eight saber techniques shared a common foundation, having evolved from a single origin, allowing Xiaoming to learn at an accelerated pace.
By the morning of the wedding banquet, Xiaoming had completed his study of all eight saber techniques.
However, learning and mastering were two distinct concepts. To truly wield them, he needed to engage in practice.
In the morning, guests of all kinds began arriving at the Nangong Manor. The manor was festively decorated, and the Nangong family members were all bustling with activity.
Nangong Ming, accompanied by a group of key young members of the Nangong family, stood at the manor’s entrance to greet the guests.
Those granted entry to the Nangong Manor and invited to the wedding banquet were primarily leaders of various sects and families, as well as the heads of different branches of the Nangong family.
Other individuals attending the wedding banquet in Funiu Town were core disciples and prominent members of various families and branches of the Nangong family.
Any other attendees were arranged to stay at major hotels in Lingnan City, where large screens in the banquet halls would broadcast the wedding ceremony live.
Long Xiao remained at the hotel, venturing nowhere. Apart from his cultivation, he received constant updates through secret phone calls from Ye Mei and the Martial Alliance.
As the wedding date drew nearer, the situation grew increasingly delicate.
Long Xiao received intelligence that the Tongji Association had arrived, along with representatives from the Eight Martial Sects. The patriarchs of China's major families were also in attendance.
The denizens of the hidden mountains had arrived, as had assassins from the Hanshan Temple, and even members of the world’s number one assassin organization had made their appearance.
In addition to these groups, a large number of mysterious individuals had infiltrated Lingnan City.
The operatives from Ye Mei’s network were unable to discern the cultivation levels of these mysterious individuals, nor could the Martial Alliance. These individuals maintained a low profile, adopting various identities and quietly embedding themselves within the city.
Judging by their methods of entry into Lingnan City, they did not appear to belong to a single organization.
The situation was becoming increasingly complex, and Long Xiao pondered relentlessly, unable to comprehend what the Nangong family truly desired from the Long family.
In the morning, the wedding entourage from the Luan family began preparing Luan Jiping. She sat there like a lifeless doll, allowing them to adorn her.
She had already made up her mind: if Long Xiao were to perish at the Nangong family’s hands, she would follow him to death.
That morning, Long Xiao emerged from the hotel and beckoned to the Nangong family members who were monitoring him.
The individuals tasked with surveilling Long Xiao rushed over. Long Xiao said, “Take me to Funiu Town.”
The supervisor, upon hearing Long Xiao’s request, took out his phone and made a call to Nangong Tianming.
Upon hearing that Hu Lei intended to visit Funiu Town, Nangong Tianming chuckled and replied, “Let him come. Let him witness how I marry Luan Jiping.”