Chapter 53: Immortal Method True Skill!
Hong Yuan knew very well that after this beat and kill at Moon Embracing Garden, he actually only had two paths left to take.
Either flee far away to another land.
Or face the coming storm head-on and truly fight it out with the big shots of Linjiang Prefecture.
If he won, he would naturally have everything he deserved.
Originally, according to Hong Yuan’s plan, killing Wei Zhenzhu and leaving would not have led to such a whirlwind storm.
But plans cannot keep up with changes; who could have foreseen that Yang Erhu, under pressure from Young Master Hua, would also get dragged into Moon Embracing Garden.
And even nearly lose his life on the spot.
There was no way around it!
Hong Yuan had no choice but to take action and deal with Hua Feiyun.
Although with Hong Yuan’s martial arts, he only needed to show a little skill to make Young Master Hua understand the danger, and protecting Yang Erhu would not be difficult.
There was no need to escalate it to a fight to the death.
But still, why should he?
Before he had this level of martial arts, enduring humiliation was acceptable, but now if he still swallowed his anger, wouldn’t all that kung fu training have been for nothing?
And for Yang Erhu, wouldn’t his old friend of twenty years, Qin Fuzi, have died in vain?
Moreover, a young master from a noble clan like Hua Feiyun had the most fickle temperament.
If he went back, grew angrier the more he thought about it, smiled on the surface but unleashed all sorts of insidious tricks in secret, or even hired assassins to attack, who knows.
Regardless of how likely it was, even if there was only a ten or twenty percent chance, Hong Yuan would find it troublesome; better to cut ties cleanly and settle it directly for a straightforward resolution.
Since he had already killed Young Master Hua, and Commander Guo Zhen had so fatefully crossed paths, there was no reason to let him go.
After all, Huang Guiling refined Spring Returning Pills using people, and this man was on the list of attendants; since he had consumed human pills, he surely believed in the law of the jungle.
It was perfectly justified for Hong Yuan to kill him.
Besides Wei Zhenzhu, Hua Feiyun, and Guo Zhen—these three heavyweight figures from Linjiang’s great families—there was another major player, Grain Transport Gang’s Jin San, who also died at Hong Yuan’s hands.
In addition, there were all sorts of noble clan members, great family retainers, and gang members who were unexpectedly caught up and died in Moon Embracing Garden, probably numbering ten or twenty people.
As for those noble clan guards, gang thugs, Jianghu martial artists, and armored soldiers, Hong Yuan couldn’t be bothered to count them.
Ordinary people dying in droves didn’t matter; the key was that too many prominent figures had died this time.
Once the news from Moon Embracing Garden spread, it would likely soon trigger an earthquake in Linjiang Prefecture, with many local areas facing a new round of power struggles.
Hearing Hong Yuan’s words, Yang Erhu sighed and gave a wry smile.
He never thought that as the master, he had instead become a burden to his disciple.
However, having witnessed Hong Yuan’s battle record of swiftly killing the crowd of masters in just over ten breaths, he knew his disciple’s martial arts had now reached a level he could only look up to from afar.
Thinking of this, he felt gratified; Tiger Subduing Sect finally had a successor!
Inexplicably feeling happy, he patted Hong Yuan’s shoulder and laughed: “Don’t worry about me. I’m old, Yang Erhu, but not so old that I can’t walk. It won’t be that easy to catch me.”
His voice paused, tone bold: “Even if this old man truly falls into enemy hands, it would just be skill inferior to others. As a Jianghu man, death is inevitable! At that time, you don’t need to be threatened by it; when you have the confidence in the future, take revenge for me. If not, keep diligently practicing martial arts. At your age, there’s no need to vie for immediate victory…”
Yang Erhu’s words carried the bold heroism of one who looked lightly upon life and death.
Hong Yuan admired this somewhat, but still shook his head: “I’m afraid that won’t work; the forces I’ve offended this time are a bit too many.”
“Hm?”
Yang Erhu looked at Hong Yuan in surprise, quite curious about what happened after Hong Yuan returned to Moon Embracing Garden.
Hong Yuan didn’t hide it and briefly explained in a few words.
Yang Erhu’s face twitched as he listened, looking Hong Yuan up and down; his recognition of his disciple’s ability to kill and stir up trouble rose another level.
After a moment, Yang Erhu slowly calmed his shocked emotions and pondered briefly before saying: “Wei Family is one of the top great families in Linjiang Prefecture; one could even say the White Scale Guard’s soldiers are solely under Wei Family’s control. But Wei Zhenzhu was a disgrace to Wei Family. As for their attitude toward you killing her, who knows…”
Yang Erhu didn’t even mention Wei Zhenzhu’s husband, Salt and Iron Commissioner Zhou Wenjie.
With Hong Yuan’s martial arts, Zhou Wenjie was clearly outdated.
“Guo Family’s forces are much weaker than Wei Family. Even with thousands of troops, with your movement technique and constant vigilance, they can’t easily do anything to you; just keep an eye out.”
Yang Erhu said gravely: “The only ones to truly beware are Grain Transport Gang and Hua Family…”
At this point, Yang Erhu shook his head again: “No, Hua Family’s power is comparable to Guo Family. What to watch out for isn’t Hua Family itself, but Young Master Hua’s sister, a young lady of Hua Family…”
His expression grew even more serious as he said solemnly: “I originally didn’t know either, but after staying in Moon Embracing Garden for over half a month, I inadvertently learned that this Hua Family young lady has joined Profound Ice Sect, and is highly regarded by the sect master, with hints of grooming her as successor…”
“That’s real trouble!”
Hong Yuan’s expression shifted: “I’ve heard of Profound Ice Sect.”
Hong Yuan challenged many masters mainly to absorb their martial arts essence and integrate it into himself, but that didn’t stop him from learning more about this world in the process.
And in the land of Mingzhou, the three major sects were what martial artists talked about most, one of which was Profound Ice Sect.
“Flower Stream Sword Sect, Vajra Temple, Profound Ice Sect… On my journey, I’ve heard of Mingzhou’s three major sects, the holy lands that countless martial artists dream of, but I don’t know what makes them special?”
Hong Yuan said.
Yang Erhu sighed: “Ordinary martial artists don’t know the inside story; at most they know the three major sects are the top leaders at Qionghua Martial Gathering, which is why they have such fame, but they don’t know the real story behind it.”
As he spoke, he looked at Hong Yuan: “My Tiger Subduing Sect has declined now, but it ultimately inherits from Dragon Tiger Patriarch, so we know a few secrets.”
“You’ve seen Grandmaster True Man Li’s manuscript, so you know that beyond Form Transformation, there is another transformation: Nature Transformation!”
Hong Yuan nodded.
“The pinnacle of Form Transformation is Microscopic Level, but even Microscopic Level is just ordinary martial arts. At its peak, one is still just an ordinary person! Only reaching Nature Transformation truly enters the gate of supernatural power.”
Intense longing showed in Yang Erhu’s eyes as he said leisurely: “I don’t know the specifics, but I heard Former Master True Man Li mention that we ordinary people train only force, while they cultivate ‘Immortal Method’!”
“This ‘Immortal Method’ is called ‘True Skill’.”
Yang Erhu’s face lit up with brilliance, yet also much regret: “What Dragon Tiger Patriarch passed down was True Skill, but unfortunately it split into two and fell into the ordinary realm!”
“So not only does Dragon Subduing Sect want to unite the Dragon Tiger secret transmission, this old man has long awaited it too, which is why I agreed to the three battles pact.”
Hong Yuan listened carefully, while reflecting on Tiger Subduing Sect’s teachings.
Although Tiger Subduing Sect lacked the Microscopic Level secret transmission, the remaining portion gave a glimpse, making him feel that this ‘Immortal Method’ was somewhat different from what he imagined.
“It’s said that no matter how strong the force, at its peak change, against True Skill it’s like an egg striking a stone—utterly vulnerable!”
“Of course, whether it’s really so, this old man hasn’t seen it with his own eyes, so I dare not confirm.”
“But the three major sects all have True Skill Foundation. If that Hua Family young lady truly holds great weight in Profound Ice Sect, you really must be careful.”
Yang Erhu reminded.
Immediately after, Yang Erhu continued: “As for Grain Transport Gang, their influence spans every county in Linjiang Prefecture, controlling the livelihoods of ten or twenty million people. Most importantly, Grain Transport Gang also has Microscopic Level masters in charge.”
“You killed Jin San; Grain Transport Gang won’t let it go easily, even for the sake of face!”
“I understand.” Hong Yuan looked at Yang Erhu. “In that case, let’s not delay; we’ll set off immediately.”
Yang Erhu waved his hand: “Not yet for the time being; this old man still needs to pick someone up first.
