“The Overlord Spear is passed down to only one person per generation, and that person must serve as the head of Honghua House. This is our first meeting, and we are strangers to each other—it’s too soon to talk about taking you as a disciple. First, show your abilities and character. If you are qualified, only then will I consider teaching you my skills and revealing the secrets of Honghua House to you.”

Honghua House, unlike forces such as the Green Bandits and the Ping Tian Sect, is a very low-profile group in the martial world, quietly managing its own small domain and not appearing on the government’s list of targets for elimination.

Henry Blake comes from an escort agency, already a man of the jianghu. To be able to enter such a ‘righteous’ and prestigious martial family, and to be groomed as an heir by a giant of the jianghu, is truly a meteoric rise.

Henry Blake had no intention of formally apprenticing himself, but with nowhere safe to go at the moment, such a wide path laid out before him, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse. After thinking for a moment, he asked:

“I’ve long heard of your great reputation, senior. If I have the chance to learn excellent spear techniques, it would be my honor. May I ask, what is your impression of me?”

“Honghua House is run by businessmen. Martial skill is important for the head, but even more important is understanding ‘the ways of the world.’ You went to the The Collins Family today, and it seems you have some connection. In the past, you helped the The Collins Family with some tasks. I will observe your abilities and character in secret.”

?

Henry Blake blinked, feeling something was off, and took a closer look at the figure in the bamboo hat, but unfortunately couldn’t discern anything…

“My father asked me to hand over the business to the The Collins Family, so that we’d have nothing more to do with each other…”

Grace Collins said seriously, “I asked you to help out, to do a job for money with no strings attached, not to become some rich family’s young master. If you really feel bad, then just don’t take the pay—helping out relatives, and you’re still unwilling?”

The voice was hoarse, full of the aura of a master, but the words—no matter how you listened—didn’t sound like those of a jianghu overlord… more like someone acting coy with a woman…

Henry Blake had some suspicions in his heart, but couldn’t be sure, so he nodded after thinking it over:

“Very well, let’s do as you say, senior. But I’m a straightforward person. Martial arts to me are like ‘shoes’—the quality of the shoes doesn’t matter, I only care about the person wearing them. If I later feel you’re not suitable, I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“That’s how people of the jianghu should be. I came to your door uninvited and took up your time. Whether anything comes of this or not, I won’t let you be left with empty hopes.”

With that, Grace Collins’s figure vanished from the rooftop, melting into the night…

------------

Chapter Five: The Ginkgo Tree

After making sure the figure had gone far away, Henry Blake sheathed his blade, his expression turning grave.

Regardless of whether the ‘Red God of Wealth’ is friend or foe, that brief exchange just now truly made him feel pressure.

Back in the border town, he was the ‘number one expert,’ and considered his skills to be first-rate even in the wider jianghu.

But after witnessing the ‘Red God of Wealth’s’ spear technique, he realized just how big the gap was between himself and the true masters of the martial world—it was like playing chess, where every move he made was an attempt to smash the board, but even if he did, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was a terrible player, with no real skill at all.

Simply put, it was as if he’d been putting all his effort into the ‘hilt’ of the blade, heading in the wrong direction.

Henry Blake wasn’t surprised by this. He’d learned his skills from his adoptive father, but his father had never taught him any real kung fu, which meant everything he’d learned was just for show. If he’d actually learned something real, that would have been the strange part.

This time, the visitor was a ‘friend,’ but next time, whoever came might not be. Without profound martial arts to rely on, this was clearly not a long-term solution…

Thinking of this, Henry Blake lifted his gaze toward the direction of the imperial city.

The Red God of Wealth said he would teach him spear techniques, but until he truly learned them, he couldn’t count on that.

Even if the Red God of Wealth sincerely wanted to take him as a disciple, to avoid being controlled by others, he had to keep a backup plan.

And that ‘backup, trump card’ for now seemed to be the 《鸣龙图》 his adoptive father had mentioned.

Never mind immortality or ascending to godhood—the rumors in the jianghu said that of the nine 《鸣龙图》, obtaining even one would allow a person to transcend the ordinary and become extraordinary.

Although the 《鸣龙图》 was buried under a ginkgo tree in the ‘harem,’ making it very hard to get.

But the current emperor is a woman, and even if she has male favorites, it’s unlikely she actually lives in the harem, so the place must be sparsely populated…

Even if the male favorites do live in the harem, there are plenty of handsome men there, and with his ‘Queen Mother chasing him to feed him’ looks, sneaking in and blending in shouldn’t be too hard…

Breaking into the imperial palace is obviously not something you decide on a whim. If you don’t figure out the lay of the land, it’s easy to end up as the ‘Noble Consort of the Night.’

After gazing in the direction of the imperial city for a long time without any ideas, Henry Blake put the thought of ‘sneaking into the harem’ to the back of his mind and went back inside to start cleaning up the rubble and broken wood.

He hadn’t been cleaning for long when the sound of hooves came from the alley, and the voices of Old Master Charles Bennett and Niao Niao rang out:

“Young master? Young master?”

“Chirp chirp chirp…”

“I’m fine.”

Henry Blake clapped his hands and walked out into the courtyard, looking at the escort guards who had rushed to help:

“A jianghu person just came by, we chatted a bit, and he’s already gone. It was a false alarm.”

The twelve escort guards looked around at the ruined alley, all frowning. Charles Bennett advised:

“Young master, Mistress San is a good person—she’s arranged a place for each of us to stay. Even Xiao Liu’s place is better than this. Why don’t you go back? You’re a stranger in the capital…”

Henry Blake wasn’t sure whether the ‘Red God of Wealth’ was connected to the The Collins Family, so after a moment’s thought, he shook his head and said: