Butt Blossoms

“Zigurd, the fiendess is kind-hearted and has never harmed a living soul. Why do you imprison her without cause!? I do not wish to kill, but do not force me to make this entire port's population accompany you to your grave!”

The booming voice Steve had previously mentioned continued to shout.

“Alright, get some more rest. I’m going out to help defend the city!” Steve gave Du Chen a few instructions, then turned to leave.

“Brother, it’s very dangerous out there!” Du Chen called out, stopping him.

“It’s fine, I’m just going to protect the statues on the city walls. No matter what, I am the family’s eldest son, and I must personally protect our ancestor’s statues.”

Steve chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll just help Uncle Norton retrieve the statues from the city walls and bring them back inside, then I’ll be back.”

Du Chen shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. But soon he understood. Putting himself in Steve’s shoes, if even the ancestral tablets were at risk, of course Steve had reason to take risks—would others be tasked with protecting their ancestral legacy?

“Be extra careful. You just said it yourself, your life is more important than anything!”

“Heh heh, I know. I still need this life to woo all the pretty senior students at the Battle God Academy!”

With that, he turned and exited.

The moment Steve stepped out, he saw Zigurd striding purposefully across the courtyard. Norton had specifically arranged for the two brothers to stay in the same courtyard as the Headmaster. While somewhat unorthodox, Norton had braved potential criticism to give Young Master Steve an early opportunity to approach the Headmaster, which would greatly assist his future academic career.

Norton, meanwhile, was attempting to block Zigurd’s path.

Steve quickly interjected, “Headmaster, why are you out here?”

Norton gave a wry smile. “Young Master Steve, please help me persuade the Headmaster. He insists on going out to face the enemy, but his venerable self’s body…”

Zigurd stated firmly, “This situation began because of me. I cannot bring disaster upon Antwerp Port. Alas, it was my oversight; I never imagined the venom this fiend left within my body would also possess tracking capabilities!”

“Your Grace, after your orders yesterday, I’ve already spread Seablue Grass throughout the city. At most, he’ll only detect the aura you left outside the city walls; he will absolutely not discover you here.”

“It is precisely because he cannot pinpoint my location that he has besieged the city to force me out. There is no need for further discussion…” Zigurd pushed aside Norton’s obstructing arm and strode forward.

Norton hurried after him, but not daring to use force, he could only spread his arms, lightly blocking his path. “Your Grace, messengers seeking aid from the Battle God Academy have already been dispatched! It’s a Six-Star Martial Battle God, who can cover five hundred *li* by sea in a single day. It’s possible the Academy’s instructors have already received the news. Furthermore, the Imperial Legions from the south are also en route as reinforcements. We only need to hold out for one day, just one day!”

“What if he attacks the city within that day? How many people will die!?”

Zigurd, hands clasped behind his back, bellowed, “I will not command you, I can only implore you, stand aside!”

He gazed fiercely at Norton, head held high. Neither his imposing aura nor his distinguished status allowed Norton to further obstruct him. He could only urge, “Your Grace, if you must go, at least take a sacred artifact with you!”

“My sacred artifact is currently used to imprison that fiendess; it cannot be moved!”

Zigurd strode out of the Lord’s Manor, with Norton and Steve following reluctantly behind.

Inside the room, Du Chen heard the conversation outside, and his heart stirred.

Antwerp Port faced a bloody war. If he could prevent this battle, what an immense good deed that would be! Du Chen recalled an ancient saying from his previous life: ‘To halt the spear and shield is the supreme good, its merits beyond measure!’

At the thought of performing good deeds, Du Chen suddenly remembered that before he fell unconscious, the third lotus seemed to have blossomed!

Thinking this, he dragged his weary body and twisted around on the bed, pulling down his shorts, and craned his neck to look at his buttocks. But the moment he turned his head, he realized something was off.

Before, it had always been a struggle to turn his head to see his own backside, sometimes even straining his neck. But now, he could effortlessly twist his neck far enough to look behind him. While not yet a terrifying 180-degree rotation, it was remarkably easy to see the tattoo on his buttocks.

It was as if the flexibility of his skeletal structure had suddenly increased.

Simultaneously, his Lotus Internal Force had also thickened considerably, now the approximate girth of a baby’s wrist.

His strength gradually returned. Du Chen stood up from the bed, and a cascade of pleasant surprises followed:

His body felt lighter…

His speed increased…

His vision sharpened…

His sense of smell heightened…

This body of his seemed to have undergone a complete, comprehensive enhancement.

He suddenly understood. The first realm of the Precious Lotus Scripture was primarily intended to remold his body! The excruciating pain he had just endured was a harbinger of his complete metamorphosis.

And so it was. The Scripture comprised eight realms. After the three lotuses of the Triple Qian Trigram—the first realm—had fully bloomed, Du Chen would undergo a profound transformation, shedding his impure mortal body and being remade into one perfectly suited for immortal cultivation!

In other words, this stage laid the deepest foundation for his future path of immortal cultivation!

Yet, this was merely the foundation. The grand gate to immortal cultivation, the supreme secret method created by the Bodhi Patriarch, who integrated both Buddhist and Daoist paths, had just opened a crack for Du Chen, allowing him to glimpse a sliver of dawn.

“Heh heh, Master, your disciple has completed one-eighth of the journey!” With a complicated blend of emotions, Du Chen then seriously examined the tattoo on his buttocks.

The Triple Qian Trigram had fully blossomed, and moreover, the lotus in the upper-left corner of the Open-Top Dui Trigram had also subtly opened its bud. Du Chen had officially entered the second realm of cultivation.

The Open-Top Dui Trigram contained a total of four lotuses, divided into four distinct stages. Given the Scripture’s characteristic of increasing difficulty with each successive realm, he had no idea when they would all fully blossom.

Patting his buttocks, Du Chen smiled. But his smile didn’t last long before he suddenly felt a warmth on his backside, and it seemed as if something extra was now beneath the palm resting on his tattoo.

He lifted his hand to look.

By the Heavens! The three lotus tattoos of the Triple Qian Trigram had actually detached from his buttocks, transforming into real lotuses! They swirled around his hand, golden and radiant, each the size of a pebble, adorned with translucent, pearl-like golden dewdrops that sparkled brilliantly!

Inspired by an unknown impulse, Du Chen blurted out, “Immortal treasures! Immortal treasures!”

With a flash of intuition, Du Chen infused a single lotus with his Lotus Internal Force and casually flung it. “Boom!” A large crater was blasted into the ground.

Indeed, these were immortal treasures! The Scripture was allowing Du Chen to cultivate himself and these artifacts simultaneously…

However, the specific wondrous uses of these lotus artifacts would require Du Chen to slowly develop them.

“Young Master Francis, is everything alright?” A servant outside the door, hearing the commotion, quickly inquired.

“It’s nothing, I just knocked over the wardrobe! No need to come in, I’ve already tidied it up!”

Du Chen was pondering how to conceal the lotus artifacts when, in a flash, the three lotuses flew back to his buttocks and transformed once more into tattoos!

Witnessing this, Du Chen couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. Immortal treasures truly were extraordinary!

At that moment, a furious roar echoed across the skies of Antwerp Port. “Zigurd, you are blind to reason, stubborn and inflexible! Do you truly intend to force me to slaughter the civilians within the city!?”

“With me here, do you dare take another step?” Zigurd’s voice, however, seemed to lack its usual strength. After all, he was still a severely injured and poisoned man.

The battle was about to erupt outside. Did he possess the ability to stop this conflict? Du Chen pondered. There was a way: if he rescued the fiendess beneath the statue, everything would be resolved effortlessly. He would also accomplish a great good deed, ‘halting the spear and shield.’

But how easy would it be to rescue that fiendess? The Lord’s Manor’s dungeon—how many guards would there be? Adventure was acceptable, but never overconfidence!

With Du Chen having just made up his mind, a servant suddenly called out from outside, “Young Master Francis, a battle is about to break out outside the city! When Your Grace Zigurd makes a move, it will be with earth-shattering power. Please quickly gather your trusted retainers and hide with us in the underground secret chamber. There, a sacred artifact left by Your Grace Zigurd can protect you!”