A Mage in the Martial Arts World - Chapter 006

It was almost midnight when the lights in Li Wei’s room went out.

The next day, the sun was already high—three poles up in the sky—and his door still hadn’t opened.

As the sun climbed higher, the faces of the maids and servants grew increasingly grim, as if they were mourning.

They knew the original master’s temperament all too well—he was the type to stir up three feet of waves even when there was no wind. This time, he would probably find some excuse to punish them again, even if they had done nothing wrong.

After waiting another half hour—nearly ten o’clock—the door finally creaked open. Li Wei stepped out, yawning, his expression sleepy.

The moment they saw him, the maids and servants all stiffened. Fear flickered in their eyes.

Li Wei lifted a hand to block the sunlight, squinting as he waved lazily. “Come in.”

The maids and servants froze, staring in disbelief. Their trembling bodies showed that they thought the young master was up to some new cruel joke.

The image of the original Li family’s young master was deeply ingrained in their hearts.

Li Wei shook his head inwardly. “Don’t worry,” he said calmly. “I won’t punish you. I promise.”

The servants exchanged quick glances, shock flickering across their faces. Still, they didn’t dare delay and hurried inside.

Some brushed his hair, some washed his face, others folded his bedding, cleaned yesterday’s mess, or set the freshly prepared breakfast on the table. Despite their numbers, they moved in perfect order—clearly well-trained.

This meal, which was nearly lunch, was much lighter than what he’d eaten the night before—not because the food was inferior, but because he wasn’t yet used to eating this way.

Two young maids stood on either side of him—one serving the dishes, the other feeding him directly. It was truly the kind of life where one only had to open their mouth to eat.

He soon found himself enjoying it. This was the kind of life he wanted.

The ancients were right—“from frugality to luxury is easy.” He sighed contentedly, enjoying the maids’ attentive service and feeling utterly refreshed.

Breakfast lasted nearly an hour.

By the time it ended, it was almost eleven, yet Li Wei showed no sign of rushing.

The God of Fighting Conference was said to begin at noon, but the actual matches never started until the afternoon.

By tradition, all the young nobles would first gather to eat and drink at the most prestigious restaurant in Golden City—the Proud Pavilion—before the event truly began. It usually didn’t start before two o’clock.

Feeling the lack of a clock, Li Wei decided that once the conference was over, he would find a way to have one made.

After absorbing the original owner’s memories, he had come to understand that craftsmanship on the Barbarian Continent—especially in fine handiwork—was quite advanced. Skilled artisans could produce exquisite objects worthy of being called masterpieces.

If he simply explained the basic principles of a clock, they might not be able to make one right away, but given time, they would surely succeed.

When the meal was over and the servants had cleared everything away, only two people remained in the room: Li Wei and a young man in his twenties dressed in silk.

His name was Zuo An—the son of a merchant family.

The Zuo family dealt in jade, purchasing raw jade from the Li family’s mines and reselling it elsewhere for profit.

Unfortunately, fate had been cruel. On one trip, Zuo An’s father had bought a large batch of high-quality jade, but before reaching Golden City—just two hundred miles away—their caravan was ambushed by sand bandits. The jade was stolen, and most of the people were killed, including his father.

That batch of jade had been a huge investment. The Zuo family had poured in all their savings and even borrowed silver from the Li family.

To recover the debt, the Li family confiscated all of the Zuo family’s remaining property, which still wasn’t enough. In the end, the entire Zuo family was sold into servitude.

Zuo An had entered the Li household two years ago.

He was clever—especially good with numbers and skilled at managing property—so the original master’s grandfather assigned him to assist the young master, mainly to curb his excessive spending.

Before his family’s downfall, Zuo An had been a man of some refinement, and his intelligence quickly won the original master’s favor. Over time, the young master became dependent on him.

A year ago, he was even granted the right to wear silk—a rare privilege among slaves.

In the Li family, only a handful of slaves—chiefly the top stewards—were allowed such honor.

“Master, the carriage is ready,” Zuo An said respectfully. “Do you wish to leave now, or wait a little longer?”

“We’ll go now,” Li Wei replied lightly. “Otherwise, if I win later, they’ll say it wasn’t fair.”

Cricket fights often involved gambling—and heavy bets at that—which naturally led to cheating.

The most common method was feeding crickets stimulant drugs.

To prevent this, both sides would hand their crickets to the referee before the match began, allowing time for any drug effects to wear off. If someone had secretly used a stimulant, its influence would fade by then, and the cricket’s performance would drop.

Li Wei took a key, opened the lock, and stepped into the cricket room. He retrieved four purple clay jars, while Zuo An prepared a ventilated wooden case on the table.

Li Wei placed the jars inside, closed the lid, and carried the box himself as they walked outside.

The sight that greeted him was a luxurious carriage—massive, larger than a small house, built from fine materials and masterful craftsmanship. Even conservatively, it was worth at least two hundred thousand taels of silver.

And that was just the carriage itself. Counting the beasts pulling it, the total value could exceed half a million taels—because the carriage wasn’t drawn by horses, but by four monstrous beasts.

They were green-scaled creatures, clad in natural armor, fierce and majestic—strong enough to tear apart tigers and leopards like playthings. Each stood over a zhang tall, exuding raw power that made people avert their eyes.

When Li Wei’s gaze fell on them, they immediately sensed it. Their eyes flashed, first with confusion, then with aggression. Blue light flared across their bodies, and faint wisps of green energy began to rise—their demonic aura.

What sharp instincts, Li Wei sneered inwardly.

The beasts were indeed perceptive. They had noticed that something about their master had changed.

“Master, please step back!” Zuo An cried, his voice trembling. He moved in front of Li Wei protectively, though his legs were shaking.

Li Wei was quietly impressed. I didn’t expect the original owner to have such a loyal servant.

He didn’t retreat. He already knew from the original’s memories about the green-scaled beasts and had prepared for this.

He met their gaze directly, and in that instant, his pupils turned silver—radiating majesty and authority that brooked no defiance.

The four beasts shuddered, their fierce eyes instantly filling with fear. They turned their heads away, trembling faintly, not daring to look at him again.

It was Deterrence—a mage skill Li Wei had learned from the Natural Dao Scripture. It directly struck at a creature’s spirit, suppressing its will, breaking its morale, and in some cases rendering it unable to fight.

Of course, the skill had limits. If the opponent’s strength was too high, it would be ineffective—or even backfire. But these were only low-level beasts, already tamed, their wildness long weakened. Even Li Wei’s first attempt produced excellent results.

Zuo An, standing before him, hadn’t seen what happened. When he noticed the beasts calm down, he finally relaxed, though he still stayed protectively in front of Li Wei.

He opened the carriage door and stepped aside.

Li Wei approached, but before he could enter, a delicate jade-white hand reached out from inside—first taking the cricket case from him, then gently pulling him in.

Inside, the carriage was elegantly furnished—with a couch, chairs, a table, and even a bookshelf.

Li Wei sat comfortably behind a desk, picked up a light reading book titled Leisure Travels—a collection of anecdotes from the Barbarian Continent—and began to read.

Meanwhile, the maid in charge of serving him laid out an assortment of snacks, fruits, and fragrant tea.

He picked up a piece of osmanthus cake with his fingers and tossed it into his mouth. It was soft, sweet but not cloying, moist but not sticky—simply perfect. Nodding in approval, he tugged lightly on a velvet cord beside the table. A crisp bell rang outside.

The carriage began to move.

The bell was the signal for Zuo An to depart.

The ride was remarkably smooth—the tea in his cup barely rippled.

Halfway through his book, the carriage came to a stop. Li Wei slid an ivory bookmark between the pages and set it aside.

His face stayed calm, but inwardly he was pleased.

Reading the original texts of the Barbarian Continent—without punctuation—should have been difficult, yet it wasn’t. His new mind absorbed every word perfectly, remembering everything he read effortlessly.

He stood, took the cricket case from the maid, and stepped outside.

Before him rose a grand building—six stories tall, each nearly two zhang high—its beams carved, its walls painted in dazzling colors. It was magnificent beyond words.