Chapter 270: Chapter 269: Skill Approaching the Dao

But Li Wancai knew this was no time to be timid.

With so many people watching, how could he show his face in public again?

"One should always leave a way out, for we may meet again."

Li Wancai’s voice grew cold, laced with a clear threat.

Zhu Ge didn’t respond, merely watched him in silence.

His gaze wasn’t that of someone looking at a person, but at a tree or a stone by the roadside, completely devoid of emotion.

Seeing this, however, made Li Wancai feel even more unsettled.

He had thrown his weight around Lijiang City for twenty years and had met all manner of people.

He had met people wealthier than him, more powerful than him, and with higher Cultivation than him.

But never before had anyone looked at him with such a gaze.

It was not disdain, nor anger, but a complete and utter disregard, as if he, Li Wancai, was simply not worth the other’s notice.

He was weighing his options.

’This young man is from Red River Prefecture. What kind of person of note could possibly come from a Barbaric Land like that?’

’But what if... just what if?’

Just then, a voice drifted from the edge of the crowd. It was as warm and smooth as jade, yet it carried an authority that could not be questioned:

"Li Wancai, the day of your family’s ruin has come..."

All eyes turned toward the voice. A young man in a moon-white robe was walking in from the edge of the crowd.

A white jade pendant hung from his waist. His gait was unhurried, his features gentle and refined, and his dark hair was tied up with a jade coronet. He looked as if he had stepped right out of a painting.

It was none other than the City Lord of Lijiang City, He Baiyu.

"City... City Lord..." Li Wancai’s face instantly turned deathly pale, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He Baiyu walked to Zhu Ge’s side and clasped his fist in a respectful salute. "Mr. Zhu, I am truly sorry that you were disturbed on my territory."

Zhu Ge returned the gesture. "You’re too kind, City Lord."

The surrounding crowd was in an uproar.

"The City Lord called him ’Mr.’?"

"Who in the world is that young man?"

"Zhu Ge... Zhu Ge... Don’t tell me he’s *the* Zhu Ge, the one who created the New Confucian Dao?"

"Gods, why would such a monumental figure come to a small place like this?"

As the murmurs rose and fell, Li Wancai’s legs began to tremble.

He Baiyu turned to him, his eyes turning cold. "You will take your own life. Everyone in your direct family line will be given poisoned wine. The branch families may live."

Li Wancai’s entire body trembled upon hearing this.

The surrounding onlookers fell silent, none daring to speak loudly.

"Father!" the young man cried out in alarm.

He hadn’t been able to get a word in until now, but he immediately dropped to his knees.

The young man knew he had provoked someone truly important!

"I... this is all my fault. I will be the one to end it..." The young man tremblingly drew the dagger from his waist and pointed it at his own chest.

But in the next moment, He Baiyu flicked his sleeve, and both the young man and Li Wancai were sent flying backward. They crashed into the wall of a distant building before falling to the ground, dead or alive unknown.

"To have eyes but fail to recognize Taishan. Death is what they deserve." He Baiyu’s expression was indifferent. "Vermin like this hid themselves too well in the past. Today, they are finally purged."

’Were they really so well hidden in the past?’ Zhu Ge remained calm inwardly, but he cupped his fist. "My thanks, City Lord He."

He Baiyu waved his hand.

"Mr. Zhu is one of the world’s foremost prodigies, having defeated the great Hongmi Immortal while only at the Second Realm. A man like Li Wancai is nothing but a conniving slacker. If he hadn’t still been of some use, I would have disposed of him long ago."

"Since he provoked Brother Zhu today, it was simply his time to die."

A man’s reputation truly precedes him.

Zhu Ge reflected internally, then turned his gaze back to the owner of the Dongba Scroll stall.

The stall owner handed the wrapped scrolls to Zhu Ge. There were fifteen in total—some were landscapes, some were portraits, and some depicted Dongba Runes. "Y-Y-Y-Young Master Zhu, please, take these as a gift from this lowly one."

The stall owner was kneeling on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Zhu Ge couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh.

He tucked the scrolls into his sleeve one by one, then glanced at the stall owner. "Proprietor, did you paint all these scrolls yourself?"

Noticing Zhu Ge’s interest in the scrolls, a strange glint appeared in He Baiyu’s eyes.

But when he examined them closely, he found them to be quite ordinary, containing not a trace of Spiritual Power. They were merely mortal paintings.

"Yes, all of them." The stall owner nodded, a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "My ancestors were Dongba Priests, and they passed down certain painting techniques and runes. Unfortunately, I lack talent. I’ve been painting my entire life, yet I can’t reach the level my ancestors did."

"These paintings are excellent," Zhu Ge said, shaking his head. "You must have been painting for many years?"

The stall owner was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

Zhu Ge grew thoughtful. Without another word, he turned and left.

He Baiyu walked beside him, with Liu Jianjian following behind, the silver bracelet on her wrist tinkling softly.

"Mr. Zhu, are you saying there is ’Presence’ in them?" As a cultivator of the Third Realm, He Baiyu obviously knew what "Presence" was.

Zhu Ge mused, "I suspect this may be what is known in legends as ’skill that borders on the Dao.’"

"When an ordinary person hones a skill to its absolute limit, even if they have no Cultivation, their work can contain the embryonic form of ’Presence.’"

"A few of those Dongba Scrolls are already approaching that state."

"Skill that borders on the Dao?" He Baiyu nodded thoughtfully. "You truly have a unique eye, Mr. Zhu."

"Brother He, would you care to join me back at the inn to study them?" Zhu Ge asked with a smile.

"I’m afraid I can’t," He Baiyu said, shaking his head. "I merely perceived with my Divine Sense that you were being troubled by some rabble, Mr. Zhu, so I came to clear away the nuisance."

"I appreciate it." Zhu Ge gave a slight nod. He had to admit, He Baiyu’s actions had indeed saved him a lot of trouble.

Even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake.

Sometimes, having the local snake king on your side could save the mighty dragon a great deal of time.

"In that case, I will take my leave." Zhu Ge was like a hunter who had spotted his prey, eager to return and study his findings.

"Farewell." He Baiyu bowed. "Should you require anything, Mr. Zhu, you need only call out my name."

With that, he rose into the air and flew away.

Zhu Ge wasted no time either, telling Liu Jianjian to go on and browse the streets by herself.

He returned to the inn, unrolled the Dongba Scrolls one by one, and examined them with great care.

He hung *Roar of the Tiger on the Snow Mountain* in the center. In the painting, a White Tiger stood atop a snowy peak, roaring at the heavens.

The "Presence" it exuded was faint, but it was undeniably there. The ferocity of the tiger, the biting cold of the snow, and the remoteness of the mountain peak all fused together, forming a unique artistic atmosphere.

"Skill that borders on the Dao," Zhu Ge murmured to himself.

He thought of the great masters of art from his past life.

Van Gogh’s *Starry Night*, Monet’s *Water Lilies*, Qi Baishi’s shrimp, Xu Beihong’s horses, and so on.

The reason those works were able to be passed down through the ages was not just because of their realism, but because they contained the creator’s emotions, thoughts, and soul.

’Perhaps that is what "Presence" is?’

An ordinary person with no Cultivation could spend a lifetime honing a single skill and still touch the threshold of the "Dao." Yet Cultivators, who possessed power and lifespans far exceeding those of ordinary people, were often blinded by their own strength, forgetting the true essence of cultivation.

’Cultivation isn’t just about cultivating power, but also one’s heart,’ Zhu Ge thought.

He put away the scrolls and sat cross-legged before the window, gazing at the distant Yulong Snow Mountain as a flicker of understanding dawned in his heart.

’My own "Presence"... it must be the Martial Dao, mustn’t it?’

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