"It's almost closing time—what brings you here?" Xu Shou held a cigarette between his fingers and smiled at Xu Mu.
"I saw someone at Jiang Huihui's Marriage Tournament today—the very Jiang Mingzhuo you mentioned before," Xu Mu said, sitting on the sofa. "He looked like he wanted to make a move on me."
"Make a move on you? Impossible. You two have no grudge."
Xu Shou frowned.
"What about you then?" Xu Mu asked.
"Me? Tell me what happened first." Xu Shou leaned back in the chair, took a drag, and waited.
Xu Mu recounted everything. Beside them, Xu Ningbing listened carefully.
When he finished, Xu Shou waved it off with a laugh. "Kid, you misunderstood."
"How so?" Xu Mu asked, puzzled.
"If he wanted to hurt you, it'd be because you're talented. If you were poisoned, it would give them leverage over Mr. Wei and the others," Xu Shou explained. "I've only heard of Jiang Mingzhuo; I don't know him. Why would he target you for no reason?"
"So that's it."
Xu Mu nodded inwardly—seems he guessed wrong. He'd thought the two were enemies.
"Xiao Mu," Xu Ningbing cut in, "you said they're all Grandmasters and very strong—so how do you tell who's stronger?"
"Yeah, give us the rundown," Xu Shou chuckled, taking another puff. "She's asked me several times. I only know a bit—hard to explain."
Xu Mu curled his lips—yeah right, keep acting. Still, he explained:
"Grandmaster has stages. Grandmaster is a watershed."
"What kind of watershed?" Xu Ningbing asked.
"Before Grandmaster, they're called martial artists; after reaching Grandmaster, most call themselves cultivators," Xu Mu said. "Grandmaster is divided into four phases—different names exist, but the meaning's the same across languages and even among foreign races."
"Early, Middle, Late, then Perfection?" Xu Ningbing ventured.
"Right—that's one naming set. Others say Minor Grandmaster, Middle Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, Grandmaster Perfection, etc." Xu Mu took a breath and outlined them:
Early Grandmaster — Tempered Body Realm (淬體境).
Physical defense surges; you can tank blade strikes and small-to-medium firearms.
Middle Grandmaster — Forged Bone Realm (鍛骨境).
Bone density like steel; strength spikes. At this stage, the body can stop a sniper round. Most people need calcium-rich heavenly materials to advance.
Late Grandmaster — Reinforced Meridian Realm (強脈境).
Meridian elasticity improves; meridians hold more qi, and single-burst output rises greatly; tendons gain explosive power and coordination. Advancing typically requires heavenly materials that strengthen meridians.
Grandmaster Perfection — Organ Tempering Realm (煉臟境).
Qi strengthens the internal organs; overall stamina soars; the heartbeat booms like a drum; recovery from injuries is dozens of times faster than normal. This stage also needs heavenly materials to temper the viscera.
…
Hearing this, Xu Ningbing was stunned.
Even from the descriptions alone, the gap between these realms and ordinary martial artists was enormous—no wonder they're called cultivators.
"Body, bones, meridians, then organs—you're basically refitting the entire 'hardware'," she said. "What comes after that?"
"Transcendence Realm (脫凡境)," Xu Mu shrugged. "Don't ask me about that. I only know a little—can't really explain it."
Arms crossed, Xu Ningbing snorted lightly. "Then I'll tell you myself when I reach Transcendence."
"So fierce! Too badass!" Xu Mu gave her a thumbs-up.
"By the way, did you hear about the Mu family?" Xu Shou asked with a grin.
"The Mu family? What about them?" Xu Mu lounged on the sofa, one leg crossed. Since Jiang Mingzhuo wasn't gunning for his dad, he could relax.
"Their ambition's huge," Xu Ningbing explained. "They took two plots at once—one in Jiang City and one in Yang City."
"Developing both simultaneously? Looks like Ye Chen's full of confidence," Xu Mu mused, rubbing his chin.
"I can already guess his play," Xu Ningbing said, gesturing. "Yang City has a better port, and he knows big Middle Eastern clients. He'll go maritime. Jiang City → Yang City → overseas, then import cheap materials back to Yang and Jiang."
Xu Mu nodded—made sense. In the original plot, Ye Chen had considerable influence abroad. Export channels are a major edge.
"Do we know which industry they're moving into?" Xu Mu asked.
"Not yet—we'll need to wait and see." Xu Shou glanced at his phone and smiled. "Alright, time to clock out."
Both Xu Mu and Xu Ningbing nodded.
…
When Xu Mu returned home, Ye Tong was already back. His sense told him Ye Yu was at Feng Yue's place.
"Honey, you're home?" Ye Tong hurried over and took his hand. "How'd it go this time—did you win?"
Xu Mu felt a little awkward—why did Ye Tong seem to care more about winning than he did? He nodded lightly. "Got lucky and happened to win."
Hearing that, Ye Tong beamed—finally, a success.
"So when are you bringing Jiang Huihui home?" she asked immediately.
"What are you thinking?" Xu Mu tapped her forehead. "I'm only her fiancée in name. We're not married. Bringing her home now—what would that look like?"
"You're right," Ye Tong muttered. Looked like she'd just have to be patient.
"Brother-in-law! Are you back?" Ye Yu shouted before even stepping inside.
"Just got home," Xu Mu smiled and nodded.
[Favorability +10]
Ye Yu bounced over. "I practiced reverse parking into the bay today. Kinda hard!"
Ye Tong's own Favorability floated up as well.
"Of course it's hard. The first time I tried, I couldn't line it up either," Xu Mu said—and then glanced meaningfully at Ye Tong.
Her face went scarlet and she fled to the kitchen.
Xu Mu grinned. When he transmigrated, he'd still been a "rookie." He'd mastered the theory, sure—but never "practiced."
When he "parked into the bay" the first time, he bumped into a few… other spots and couldn't get in smoothly. But hey—there's a first time for everything. With practice, it's smooth sailing.
After dinner, Xu Mu headed upstairs as usual, waiting for Ye Tong to "hold a meeting" in the bedroom.
After washing the dishes, Ye Tong went to the bedroom. Ye Yu just curled her lip—she was too tired to comment.
Xu Mu liked reading the news. While he and Ye Tong were "discussing global affairs in depth yet with delightful simplicity," his phone suddenly rang—Dai Xingluo was calling.