Chapter 126: Chaos Ceases, Great Achievement
Vegetable Market Intersection.
The smoke and dust had not yet fully dissipated, and the air was filled with a solemn killing aura mixed with rust and blood.
Lu Jing’s vision was pitch black, as if he had been thrown into a bottomless deep pool.
Even with his vast power of intent after becoming a Slayer of Intent, at this moment it was like being separated by a thick layer of glass, only barely able to capture a few blurry flickers of light and shadow.
A sky-covering killing intent surged from behind like a tidal wave.
Then Red Fifth Master flashed out from the side, his cheeks drawn tight, his chest and abdomen incredibly folded almost together.
Even the outlines of his spine and each rib behind were clearly visible, still trembling slightly, as if an invisible strange strength was madly brewing and compressing within!
This made his entire body shrink eerily to the size of a child, yet emitting an extremely dangerous aura.
“Kill!”
Red Fifth Master roared like thunder, stamping his foot. It looked shaky like a toddler learning to walk, but his speed was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Lu Jing.
His palms flipped unpredictably, carrying a mysterious flavor like silkworm spinning silk—endless and lingering, yet impossible to predict the final landing point—silently slapping toward the crown of Lu Jing’s head!
Seeing this, even in the midst of life-and-death combat, a trace of astonishment involuntarily flashed in Lu Jing’s eyes.
Entangling Closed Door!
Silkworm Strength!
It was a superior martial art from Sichuan, even encompassing the four major fields of martial arts, Yixue, martial medicine, and Alchemy Dao.
It emphasized that when practicing fist forms, it was like silkworm spinning silk; when moving, avoid the solid and strike the weak—bend a hundred times with a waist without bones, and with one shake, the whole body becomes hands.
Hard to learn, even harder to master.
Lu Jing’s figure did not move, as if he had no time to react.
Seeing this, Red Fifth Master was not pleased but worried instead, his eyes narrowing.
Then, somehow, Lu Jing seemed to “instantly” shift a few inches, perfectly appearing at a position one arm’s length to the side, narrowly avoiding that fatal double palm strike.
“Silently tampering with my perception, is this the Slayer of Intent?”
A trace of ferocious malice flashed in Red Fifth Master’s eyes.
His left palm suddenly changed, five fingers clenching like an eagle’s beak, muscles and bones crackling explosively. Terrifying qi and blood instantly gathered at his fingertips, with a sharp whistle tearing through the air, as a fierce horizontal claw struck toward Lu Jing again!
“Hmph!”
Lu Jing sneered, sinking one foot and slapping out with a palm.
“Hm?!”
However, just as the two forces were about to clash, Lu Jing’s expression suddenly changed drastically!
He fiercely surged his qi and blood, his palm force erupting, viciously sending Red Fifth Master flying back. But he himself was also struck as if by a heavy blow, staggering backward repeatedly!
And with every step Lu Jing retreated, the ground gained a footprint nearly sinking to his ankles. His previously calm face instantly flushed red as blood, his throat churning—his qi and blood actually in turmoil, even reverse blood surging up his throat!
Sky-Shrouding Technique broken, Red Fifth Master landed on the ground.
Vision suddenly restored; the martial artists and runners present looked at this scene in stunned shock.
Leader Lu was actually injured?
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
The sound of bowstrings being drawn rang out abruptly, arrowheads gleaming coldly. The archers waiting in strict formation around them all fully drew their bows.
Armored soldiers holding sharp weapons treated it like a great enemy, quickly closing in and surrounding the entire Vegetable Market Intersection watertight.
Numerous first-rate experts arrived together.
The commoners in the surrounding shops and teahouses also secretly peeked through door cracks, windows, or even lay on rooftops to watch the show.
The center of the vegetable market.
Lu Jing’s face was extremely ugly. He forcibly suppressed his churning qi and blood, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness and unwillingness.
“What a Guo Lu Society. I, Lu, still underestimated your teamwork—one in the open, one in the shadows. Two experts who have Slain Four Thieves; I, Lu, lost without injustice.”
What?
Two who have Slain Four Thieves?
The first-rate experts who had just arrived together to kill all stopped in their tracks, faces showing shock.
Chen Shun’an, who had just arrived at the vegetable market side with Zhou Qing, Ba Lima, and others, looked puzzled upon hearing this.
Huh?
Did I make a move?
Didn’t I just arrive?
Wait!
Chen Shun’an’s expression tightened slightly, his gaze like lightning glancing over Lu Jing’s figure as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
“Lu Jing’s qi and blood are boiling now, but his internal breath foundation is undamaged. This injury…”
Lu Jing, it feels like he’s… putting on a show?
Chen Shun’an muttered to himself inwardly.
Lu Jing seemed to notice, as a subtle gaze touched and then dispersed from him.
A profound glint flashed in his eyes.
On the other side, hearing Lu Jing’s words, Red Fifth Master subconsciously looked down at his own palms, odd lights flashing in his eyes.
I, Hong Lao Wu, am actually this powerful?
Or…
Red Fifth Master suddenly understood something, giving Lu Jing a deep look.
Whoosh!
Red Fifth Master suddenly slapped his waist, a hemp rope flying out like a spiritual snake, precisely wrapping several corpses on the wooden rack, along with the heads in the bamboo baskets, binding them securely together.
“Loose arrows, loose arrows!”
“Quick, men, stop him!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
Some public office bailiffs shouted urgently.
Arrows rained down, soldiers swarmed like clouds, closing in from all sides.
But Red Fifth Master’s figure shook and flashed. Even without specializing in lightness skill, relying solely on a first-rate expert’s instinctive control of muscles and bones.
Red Fifth Master’s feet did not move; his back’s great dragon vertebrae popped section by section, and his whole body shot out like a meteor plunging straight down, instantly appearing dozens of zhang away!
No one dared to block, and aside from Lu Jing, no one could block him.
“Damn it, damn it!!”
A soldier in the uniform of the cavalry camp strode up to Lu Jing with an ashen face, his tone implying displeasure and questioning, coldly saying,
“Leader Lu, why didn’t you block him just now?!”
Lu Jing raised his eyes, glancing at him indifferently, and said,
“I couldn’t block him. What, can you block him? Then why didn’t you?”
The soldier was immediately choked speechless, veins bulging on his neck, his face alternating between red and white.
He abruptly turned around, his gaze sinisterly sweeping over the martial artists of the Wuqing Stick Bureau, ultimately venting his anger on his subordinates, roaring, “What are you all standing around for! Chase him!!”
A vast army of soldiers, bows drawn and swords ready, quickly headed in the direction Red Fifth Master had fled.
……
At one corner of the Vegetable Market Intersection, the smoke and dust had not fully settled.
Seeing the soldiers surging with killing intent.
Chen Shun’an and Sun Xiao, Cheng Bin, and the others quickly retreated to the sides of the street, standing under the eaves of a water shop, afraid their old arms and legs would provoke these soldiers.
“Today, it seems it’s over?”
Sun Xiao cautiously poked his head out from under a half-collapsed hut, his eyes darting nervously around.
Cheng Bin leaned against a broken wall, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and let out a long breath, saying,
“We’ve done what we could. Skill inferior to others—even Senior Lu was defeated. What more can we do?”
Chen Shun’an also shook his head, timely showing a mix of lingering fear and indignant unfairness on his face, saying,
“Exactly. The Guo Lu Society rebels are rampant, without martial virtue, even ambushing Senior Lu… By the way, do we still get military merit today? After all, even without merit, we have hard labor…”
Lin Shou Zhuo, who had been silent with a taut face, helplessly glanced at Chen Shun’an and said grumpily,
“Relax, I’ll petition the Inner Department to seek cultivation for you. Not to mention anything else, just for saving Hong Junxian, you at least get a third-class great merit.”
The Wuqing Stick Bureau also adopted the Sacred Dynasty’s military camp military merit system: five classes of military merit, first class highest, fifth class lowest.
Including but not limited to cutting off ears, capturing, inducing surrender, etc…
Like Chen Shun’an previously patrolling the Outer Department and escorting supplies, working a full month only earned a fifth-class minor merit.
And three lower minor merits counted as one upper major merit.
So a third-class great merit was already very generous, enough to exchange for quite a few good things.
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Chen Shun’an immediately felt relieved.
He looked at Lu Jing not far away and suddenly asked,
“Instructor Lin, what exactly caused Senior Lu to fall out with Landlord Zhao back then?”
Lin Shou Zhuo frowned and didn’t answer, instead looking toward Zhou Qing.
Lin Shou Zhuo was actually quite curious too.
Sun Xiao, Cheng Bin, and the others seemed to be wrapping up, carrying wounded here and cleaning debris, but at this moment they involuntarily slowed their actions and perked up their ears.
Zhou Qing was silent for a moment, then said,
“Senior Lu and Landlord Zhao actually knew each other from early years. Especially when Zhao Mansion was on the decline, Landlord Zhao starting from scratch and barely establishing himself in Wuqing County—they once shared a bed, brothers in arms.
Later, Landlord Zhao had just defeated several competitors and rose to the ranks of the nine great landlords of the Wuqing County water station. Coinciding with the Four Great Daoist Academies in Tongzhou City widely opening the martial path and holding the year-end grand celebration, Landlord Zhao fought for a precious admission quota.”
At this point, Zhou Qing’s voice suddenly became lower, a trace of inexplicable emotion flashing in his eyes.
“Logically, at that time Senior Lu’s strength was higher, already at the Slay Two Thieves realm, while Landlord Zhao was just initial Slaying One Bandit. Giving that quota to Senior Lu, his chance of entering the path through martial arts during the year-end would be greater.”
Zhou Qing said no more, his words abruptly stopping.
The later developments, everyone could naturally guess.
Peace was originally destined by the general; the general was not allowed to see peace.
In terms of martial path aptitude and strength at the time, Lu Jing far surpassed Zhao Guangxi.
Even Zhao Guangxi being able to sit in the landlord position owed much to Lu Jing’s strong support behind the scenes.
However, facing that heaven-shaking temptation of entering the Dao through martial arts, Zhao Guangxi ultimately couldn’t resist, claiming the quota for himself, only to fail the challenge.
From then on, brothers fell out, the two gradually drifted apart, ultimately completely breaking off.
Disheartened, Lu Jing left far for the water station, joining the Liangjiang Military Academy.
Lin Shou Zhuo nodded silently, resolving a long-standing doubt in his heart.
Sun Xiao, Cheng Bin, and the others wore “so that’s how it is” expressions, satisfied, and continued working.
But Chen Shun’an keenly caught a key piece of information from Zhou Qing’s words.
He had long known of the Four Great Daoist Academies’ existence; that “year-end grand celebration” seemed to be a rare path for martial artists of the Sacred Dynasty to contact the immortal path.
He had previously thought one needed to cultivate to Slaying the Six Thieves perfection, or even break through to Martial Saint realm, to prove immortality through the martial path, shed the mortal coil, and step onto the immortal path.
How come now it seems even martial artists who have Slain One Bandit can enter immortality through martial arts?
Just with slim hopes.
Even Zhao Guangxi failed.
“Year-end grand celebration… For martial artists, it’s no different from a carp leaping over the dragon gate opportunity, but… who are the immortals? Where are they? What constitutes an immortal?”
Chen Shun’an’s eyes showed deep thought.
